PHILLIPINES ACCUSES CHINA OF STOKING SOUTH CHINA SEA TENSIONS / THE FINANCIAL TIMES

Last updated: September 3, 2013 6:21 pm

 

Philippines accuses China of stoking South China Sea tensions

 

By Demetri Sevastopulo in Nanning and Roel Landingin in Manila

 

 

 

The Philippines has accused China of preparing to start construction on a disputed reef in the South China Sea, as fresh tensions emerged over the energy-rich waters.

 

Voltaire Gazmin, the Philippines’ defence secretary, on Tuesday said China had brought concrete blocks to Scarborough Shoal as a precursor to a move that would violate a 2002 agreement between China and the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

 

“We have noticed the presence of three [Chinese] coast guard ships in Bajo de Masinloc,” Mr Gazmin said, referring to Scarborough Shoal, which is in effect under the control of Chinese vessels. “We have also sighted concrete blocks inside the shoal which is a prelude to construction.”

Friction between China and its southeast Asian neighbours has risen over the past two years as Beijing has become much more aggressive in staking its claims to disputed areas in the South China Sea. Sino-Japanese relations have also suffered badly as Beijing has staked stronger claims to the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands – which China calls the Diaoyu – in the East China Sea.

 

The US has responded to the growing Chinese maritime presence with an Asia “pivot” that involves deploying more navy ships in the eastern Pacific. In June, the Pentagon revealed that Chinese navy ships had started patrolling the US’s exclusive economic zone, underscoring how China is quickly becoming a maritime power.

 

Li Keqiang, the Chinese premier, on Tuesday acknowledged that there were “disturbing factors” impacting on regional stability, but he insisted that the South China Sea disputes “should not and will not affect the overall China-Asean co-operation”.

But his speech at the opening of the annual China-Asean Expo in Nanning, the capital of the southern province of Guangxi, came just after the Philippines revealed that President Benigno Aquino had cancelled his trip to the event after Beijing imposed conditions that were “absolutely inimical to our national interest”.

Manila did not disclose the conditions, but media reports said Beijing asked the Philippines to withdraw an arbitration claim at the UN over the Scarborough Shoal.

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Latest news and comment on the escalating disputes over islands and territorial waters between an increasingly assertive China and its neighbours

The cancellation came despite the Philippines being assigned the “country of honour” at the expo. Several Asean leaders, including President Thein Sein of Myanmar and Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra of Thailand, are attending the event, which is aimed at facilitating a China-Asean trade agreement that came into force in 2010.

The Philippines angered Beijing in January by taking its case to the international body. While several Asean countries have serious disputes with China over the South China Sea, the Philippines has been the most aggressive in defending its claims.

Walden Bello, a Philippine lawmaker, said the latest Chinese move was “very alarming”. He recalled how China in 1994 asserted control over Mischief Reef, a rich fishing ground 130 miles west of the Philippines’ Palawan island, by building on it after it was temporarily abandoned by the Philippine navy due to bad weather.


Additional reporting by Julie Zhu

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2013.