“These structures are illegal. The Laws of the Sea gives the Philippines indisputable and exclusive rights over the area. These constructions and other activities, economic or otherwise, are prejudicial to peace, good order, and security of our territorial waters,” AFP chief-of-staff Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana said in a statement.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 1) — The national security advisers of the United States and the Philippines shared a phone call on Wednesday to discuss the presence of Chinese vessels at Julian Felipe Reef amid reports that more of Beijing’s maritime militia are scattered across the West Philippine Sea.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and his Philippine counterpart Hermogenes Esperon talked about their “shared concerns regarding the recent massing” of China at Julian Felipe Reef, located some 175 nautical miles east of Bataraza, Palawan and well within the country’s exclusive economic zone.
According to a statement released by Sullivan’s spokesperson Emily Horne, the foreign official said the US continues to be an ally of the Philippines in its fight against China’s illegal activities in the country’s waters. He assured that the Mutual Defense Treaty between the two countries is “applicable” amid the ongoing tensions.
The 1951 agreement between the Philippines and the US guarantees that the two countries will provide military aid to each other in case their territories are attacked by a foreign force.
Sullivan and Esperon vowed that the two countries will continue to “coordinate closely” in responding to challenges in the West Philippine Sea.
The Chinese Embassy previously called out foreign diplomats who have raised concerns over developments in the contested waters.
Increased presence in PH waters
The National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea reported the presence of over 200 Chinese ships at Julian Felipe Reef, also known as Whitsun, last March 20. It stood by its observation that these are part of China’s maritime militia despite Beijing’s denial.
In seeming defiance of the formal protest, some 44 Chinese vessels are still stationed at Julian Felipe Reef, while more than 200 others were reported to have moved to different areas in the Kalayaan Island Group.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines on Thursday also reported spotting “illegal” man-made structures built on Pagkakaisa Banks or Union Banks, a group of features that are within the Kalayaan Island Group under the municipality of Kalayaan, Palawan.
An arbitral tribunal in 2016 ruled that China’s island-building activities on these reefs and four others constitute violations to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea or UNCLOS and “have caused devastating and long-lasting damage to the marine environment.”
China rejects the ruling, which also recognized the Philippines’ sovereign rights to parts of its EEZ which Beijing contests. The East Asian giant insists on owning almost the entire South China Sea, including areas Manila claims as the West Philippine Sea.
The task force said it has increased the deployment of Navy, Coast Guard, and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources vessels in the Kalayaan Island Group to augment routine patrols and assert the country’s sovereignty.
