Major news in Philippine on June 27: Chinese ships still in Panatag

Top news in <Manila Times> :  Chinese ships still in Panatag

Published : Wednesday, June 27, 2012 00:00 Written by : William B. Depasupil, Reporter

THE Philippine Navy on Tuesday refuted reports that Beijing had pulled out all of its ships from the Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, saying there are 28 Chinese ships in the area, including surveillance and law enforcement vessels.

Navy flag officer-in-command Vice Admiral Alexander Pama disclosed on Tuesday that the Chinese vessels were spotted by a Navy reconnaissance plane dispatched on Monday afternoon to monitor the situation at the disputed shoal.

Of the 28 vessels, Pama said six were fishing boats, three were maritime surveillance ships, two fisheries and law enforcement vessels and 17 were dinghies or small boats.

“As of yesterday afternoon there were Chinese maritime surveillance vessels, three CMS [Chinese Maritime Surveillance] were there, two fisheries law enforcement command vessels, and then three six Chinese vessels inside the shoal and 17 dinghies,” Pama said.

Not a single Philippine ship was seen in the shoal since President Benigno Aquino 3rd recalled a Coast Guard ship and a survey vessel of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources early this month because of bad weather.

The Philippines and China declared a fishing ban in the area “to replenish maritime resources” but the presence of Chinese fishing boats at the shoal would prove that the Chinese were violating the ban, Pama said.

On Monday, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario claimed that China has withdrawn all its vessels.

“Based on coordination with the Philippines and China, as of two days ago, we have received information that all boats have left the lagoon in Bajo de Masinloc,” Del Rosario was quoted as saying in a statement released by the DFA. “There are no longer any boats from either the Philippines or China inside the shoal,” he added.

Yesterday, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) confirmed that Chinese ships and fishing vessels were back inside the lagoon of the disputed shoal.

“The Chinese fishing boats have obviously returned,” del Rosario said in a statement.

China had lauded the pullout of Philippine vessels from the shoal, saying it will defuse weeks of tension. However, President Aquino had announced that Philippine ships will be re-deployed to the area if China will not leave the shoal.

Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said that he would recommend to the President the immediate return of Philippine ships to the area so as not to weaken the country’s position over Panatag.

The dispute between the Philippines and China over the Panatag Shoal is now entering its third month with still no solution site. It erupted last April after Naval authorities apprehended eight Chinese vessels loaded with rare and endangered maritime species poached in the Panatag area.

No to school

China earlier this week urged the Philippines not to exacerbate the current standoff in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) by building a kindergarten school in the disputed Pagasa Island.

In a report in state-run Xinhua News Agency on Monday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei maintained that China “has indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha Islands and its adjacent waters.”

“The country opposes any illegal activity that may infringe on China’s sovereignty,” Hong said.

He added that he hopes relevant countries will abide by the spirit of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), which was signed in 2002 by China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).

Asean groups together the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and Brunei Darussalam.

Pagasa Island, which Beijing calls Zhongye Island, is also being claimed by Taiwan, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam. It is part of the disputed Spratly Islands, which are believed to hold vast resources of oil and minerals.

On Sunday, a kindergarten school was opened on the island to help the community living there. <With a report from Bernice Camille V. Bauzon>

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