MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines on Monday called on Beijing to desist from “escalatory actions” at a South China Sea shoal and said a protest has been lodged over the presence of Chinese coast guard, militia and navy in its exclusive economic zone.
The protest stems from the presence of two coast Chinese guard vessels on Jan. 5 and Jan. 10 in and around the disputed Scarborough shoal, one of which was a 165 m (541ft) long boat referred to by the Philippines as “the monster”. It said a Chinese navy helicopter was also deployed in the area.
“The escalatory actions of these Chinese vessels and aircraft disregard Philippine and international laws,” said the Philippines’ national maritime council, an inter-agency group tasked with upholding the country’s interests at sea.
“China should direct its vessels to desist from conducting illegal actions that violate Philippines’ sovereign rights in its EEZ,” it said in a statement.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said in a news conference that its coast guard “patrol and law enforcement activities” were “reasonable, lawful and beyond reproach”.
“China urges the Philippine side to cease its malicious hype,” Guo said.
Tensions between China and the U.S. ally the Philippines have escalated the past two years, with frequent run-ins between their coast guards in the South China Sea, which China claims sovereignty over almost in its entirety.
The statement came just hours after Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had a virtual call with U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba where the three leaders discussed China’s conduct in the South China Sea.
China’s expansive claims overlaps with the EEZs of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. The disputed waterway is a strategic shipping route through which about $3 trillion of annual commerce moves.
A 2016 ruling of an international arbitral tribunal said Beijing’s claims, based on its historic maps, have no basis under international law, a decision China does not recognise.
(Reporting by Karen Lema; Additional reporting by Ethan Wang in Beijing; Writing by Mikhail Flores; Editing by Martin Petty and Michael Perry)
