Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 16) — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Thursday called on China to remove all of its illegal structures from Manila’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and cease all land reclamation activities there following Beijing’s latest incursion in the West Philippine Sea.
On Nov. 10, the China Coast Guard blasted a Filipino vessel with a water cannon and endangered two others with what Philippine officials described as reckless maneuvers in the vicinity of Ayungin Shoal.
A day after the incident, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin justified China’s actions, claiming that Beijing’s sovereignty was violated and that it \”took necessary enforcement measures against the Philippine ships in accordance with law.\” It also reiterated its demand for the Philippines to remove the BRP Sierra Madre outpost from the shoal.
The DFA said the BRP Sierra Madre was deliberately grounded at Ayungin Shoal in 1999 as a response to China’s illegal occupation of Panganiban Reef or Mischief Reef in Manila’s EEZ. In 1995, Beijing constructed what it claimed was a \”fisherman’s shelter\” in the waters, promising that it would remain as such. It is now a militarized artificial island, the DFA added.
\”We call on China to remove all these illegal structures, cease reclamations in the South China Sea, and be accountable for the damages caused by these illegal activities,\” the DFA said.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said in October that the Philippines would file an environmental case against China over its alleged coral harvesting and environmental damage in the West Philippine Sea, which lawmakers suspect is a prelude to even more land reclamation activities.
Furthermore, the DFA said that China asked the Philippines to give prior notification each time the country had plans to conduct a resupply mission to Ayungin Shoal.
\”We will not do so,\” the department said. \”The resupply missions are legitimate activities within our EEZ, in accordance with international law.\”
In 2016, an arbitral tribunal constituted under the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea nullified Beijing’s nine-dash line claim, which covered most of the South China Sea, including the portion Manila calls the West Philippine Sea.
The same ruling said Ayungin Shoal is a low-tide elevation that is within the Philippines’ continental shelf and 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ), over which the country has sovereign rights and jurisdiction.
The feature is located 106.3 nautical miles from Palawan and 617.3 nautical miles from the Chinese mainland.
\”The Philippines remains guided by UNCLOS and the Arbitral Award as the twin anchors of our policy and actions in the South China Sea,\” the DFA said.
