The Philippines on Wednesday reiterated its call to China to respect the United Nations Convention on the Law of Sea, as a US defense official warned China against aggressive actions in the South China Sea, including the deployment of surface-to-air missiles on a disputed island.
US Defense Secretary Ash Carter said China must not pursue militarization in the South China Sea, adding “such specific actions will have specific consequences.”
The Foreign Affairs Department earlier called on China to heed the collective call not to militarize the disputed body of water, adding that the Philippines is gravely concerned by China’s deployment of surface-to-air missiles on Woody Island.
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“Such actions negate China’s earlier commitment not to militarize the South China Sea,” the DFA said.
China confirmed it had sent vessels to a disputed atoll in the South China Sea to tow a grounded ship and that these vessels have since left the waters.
Kalayaan Mayor Eugenio Bito-onon Jr. said China had stationed several ships near the Jackson Atoll (Quirino Atoll), preventing Filipino fishermen from accessing traditional fishing grounds and raising tensions again in the volatile region.
“I feel something different. The Chinese are trying to choke us by putting an imaginary checkpoint there. It is a clear violation of our right to travel, impeding freedom of navigation,” he said.
Carter said the US military was already increasing deployments to the Asia-Pacific region and would spend $425 million through 2020 to pay for more exercises and training with countries in the region that were unnerved by China’s actions.
He said China’s behavior has fueled trilateral agreements that would have been “unthinkable” even a few years ago.
The United States has carried out several freedom of navigation exercises in the South China Sea in recent months, sailing near disputed islands to underscore its rights to navigate the seas. US Navy officials say they plan to conduct more and increasingly complex exercises in the future.
Carter said the Pentagon also planned to spend over $8 billion in fiscal 2017 alone to expand its fleet of powerful submarines and undersea drones.
“There is no question that there are consequences for these actions,” Carter said. “We have plans in all three of these categories. You’ll see them unfolding.”
Carter underscored the US military’s determination to safeguard maritime security around the world, and particularly in the South China Sea region, which sees about 30 percent of the world’s trade pass its waters each year.
On Wednesday, the chief of the Western Command, Admiral Alexander Lopez, denied reports that Chinese coast guard ships had occupied the Quirino atoll within the Kalayaan Island Group.
“It’s not true that they have control of the Quirino atoll. In fact, our last surveillance flight showed we’ve fishermen there. So it’s incorrect, very inaccurate,” Lopez said of a news story in a daily newspaper (not The Standard).
He said three to five Chinese ships were seen near the atoll, but they did not stay long and sailed away.
Also on Wednesday, Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the agreement signed between the Philippines and Indonesia should serve as a guide for a dialogue with the Chinese government.
This dialogue could ease rising tensions in the South China Sea caused by conflicting territorial claims. With Joel E. Zurbano