Phl protests China airstrip on reef

MANILA, Philippines - China is reclaiming land on Mabini (Johnson) Reef in the West Philippine Sea apparently to build an airstrip, Malacañang said yesterday.

The government has filed a diplomatic protest in response, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said in a press briefing yesterday.

The development came on the heels of Washington’s chastising China for its “provocative” actions in the South China Sea.

Lacierda said China’s reclamation activities on Mabini Reef as well as the filing of a diplomatic protest were reported to the Palace by the
 defense and foreign affairs departments last month, but the matter was not publicly announced so as to avoid further stoking tensions.

Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose said the diplomatic protest was filed on April 4. Beijing rejected the filing outright, he said.

Lacierda said the latest development should highlight the need for a multilateral instead of bilateral approach to resolving the territorial issue with China. Beijing said it would only accept a bilateral solution to its problems with its neighbors.

“And emphatically the President has always said that we prefer a multilateral dialogue consistent with international law, consistent with the rule of law, consistent also with the Declaration on the Conduct of (Parties in the) South China Sea where there has been an emphasis on the provisions on not escalating any further tensions and also, not disrupting the status quo,” Lacierda said.

He said that despite China’s aggressive staking of its claims in the West Philippine Sea, Manila remains committed to dialogue – a tack unanimously approved by the international community.

“As we have seen, several countries have already voiced their support for the diplomatic path that we have taken,” he said.

“I would like to believe that China is a member and would like to be a member of the international community in good standing,” Lacierda said.

“It appears that they are doing things which we find objectionable. We do believe that international support and international persuasion can be a big voice with respect to China dealing or conducting itself in the international arena,” he said.

He said member-states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) had agreed on a number of things, including the speedy completion of the DOC.

“And hopefully that China would – as a member of the international community – also find reason to sit down with the (ASEAN) member states and discuss the Declaration on (the) Conduct (of Parties in the South China Sea),” Lacierda said.

He also cited the “ironclad” support promised recently by US President Barack Obama for the Philippine position on the West Philippine Sea issue.

“We see a progression of statements that will show support for us,” he said.

Lacierda also noted that the recently signed Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) with the US would improve the country’s defense capabilities.

“So all of these are part of improving our own capabilities – separate and apart from reaching out to the international community. And it’s not difficult to reach out to them because we have the voice of reason on our side, we have the invocation of international law and abiding by a rule-based arbitration mechanism to resolve disputes,” Lacierda said.

“The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea has many signatories. We have resorted to a mechanism that is found in that particular law. In and of itself, a favorable resolution would certainly enhance our position, the position taken by this government insofar as resolving disputes in the South China Sea,” he said. 

Aerial photos

Foreign affairs spokesman Jose said evidence of the Chinese activity on the reef had been shown in aerial photographs taken by the Philippine Navy. The Philippines and Taiwan already have airstrips in the area. “They’re about to build an airstrip,” Jose said.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, an area rich in energy deposits and an important passageway traversed each year by $5 trillion worth of ship-borne goods.

The Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims on the area.

Jose said China began moving earth and materials to Mabini Reef, known by the Chinese as Chigua, in recent weeks. He said China’s move was in violation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.

He confirmed that the DFA had raised the issue behind closed doors at last weekend’s ASEAN summit in Myanmar.

Department of National Defense (DND) spokesman Peter Paul Galvez also said there are “ongoing reclamation or earthmoving activities in said areas” but the DND would still have to determine what the Chinese were really up to in reclaiming land on Mabini Reef.

What is clear, he said, is that China’s acts were in violation of the COC.

“These provocative acts, which they (China) should immediately stop, further disturb the fabric of regional peace and stability,” Galvez said.

Senior military officials said China’s new “Great Wall” in the West Philippine Sea was meant to project Beijing’s power in the West Philippine Sea and South China Sea without its soldiers having to fire a shot.

Tensions in the South China Sea were already high after China moved a large oil rig into an area also claimed by Vietnam. Jaime Laude, Pia Lee-Brago, Mike Frialde