China, Philippines swap protests over Manila-occupied island

SMA NEWS – MANILA

The Philippines has demanded that China withdraw its ships and fishing vessels from the vicinity of a Philippine-occupied island in the South China Sea, where the Chinese military has asserted its sovereignty and vowed to “unswervingly safeguard” the disputed territory.
The exchange of protests by the Asian neighbors over the island, internationally called Thitu, is the latest flareup in a long simmering territorial feud in the strategic waterway that has escalated in the last two months.
The Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila said Saturday it has filed a diplomatic protest against “the incessant deployment, prolonged presence and illegal activities of Chinese maritime assets and fishing vessels in the vicinity of the Pag-asa islands.” It used the Philippine name for Thitu, which China calls Zhongye Dao.
The department demanded that China withdraw its vessels from near the island, which it said “is an integral part of the Philippines over which it has sovereignty and jurisdiction.”
The 37.2-hectare (92-acre) island is the largest of nine mostly islets, reefs and shoals occupied by Philippine forces in the disputed waters. The Manila government lists Thitu and outlying outcrops as part of a town in western Palawan province.
Aside from Filipino troops and police, a small fishing community can be found on Thitu. The government has constructed a beach ramp to allow the docking of navy and cargo ships and unloading of construction materials and heavy equipment for new projects, including the repair and lengthening of a seawater-eroded airstrip, an ice plant for fishermen and more military barracks.
Chinese officials have not protested as loudly as before the Philippine constructions amid cozier ties between Beijing and Manila under Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. But on Thursday, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Tang Kefei said China was “resolutely opposed” to any Philippine development on Thitu.
“China’s military will unswervingly safeguard national territory, sovereignty and maritime rights, while resolutely maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea,” Tang said, without elaborating at a monthly briefing.