THE White House warned Thursday that China would face “consequences” for its military buildup in the contested waters of the western Pacific as the Philippines expressed concern over the reported installation of Chinese missiles on Fiery Reef, Subi Reef and Mischief Reef in the Spratly archipelago that Manila claims as its territory.
“We’re well aware of China’s militarization of the South China Sea,” said US Press Secretary Sarah Sanders. “We’ve raised concerns directly with the Chinese about this and there will be near-term and long-term consequences.”
Sanders did not say what the consequences would be.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said the Philippines was taking the report of new missile installations seriously and was verifying the information.
In a statement from Malacañang, Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque expressed confidence that the missiles were not aimed at the Philippines.
“We are concerned with the reported China’s missile deployments over the contested areas in the West Philippine Sea.”©With our recently developed close relationship and friendship with China, we are confident that those missiles are not directed at us,” he said in a statement.”©
He assured the public that the government would explore all diplomatic means to address the issue.
Cayetano said his department has already coordinated with the Defense Department, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr., and the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency.
The South China Sea—which sits between Vietnam, the Philippines, China and several other countries —is subject to a myriad of competing territorial claims.
The South China Sea—which sits between Vietnam, the Philippines, China and several other countries —is subject to a myriad of competing territorial claims.
But in recent years, China has upped the ante, seizing islets and atolls in the face of protests and bellicose warnings.
Beijing Thursday reasserted its right to build “defense” facilities in the disputed region, but declined to confirm reports it had installed new missiles on artificial islands it had built.
Beijing sees the area as key to pushing its defenses beyond China’s coast and securing oil supply routes.
The US network CNBC reported Wednesday that the Chinese military installed anti-ship cruise missiles and surface-to-air missile systems on three outposts in the region also claimed by the Philippines and Vietnam over the last 30 days, citing sources close to US intelligence.
If the information is verified, it could provoke renewed tensions between countries bordering the strategically vital maritime region.
At a regular briefing on Thursday, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying neither confirmed nor denied the deployment.
“China’s peaceful construction in the Spratly archipelago, including the deployment of necessary national defense facilities, is aimed at protecting China’s sovereignty and security,” she said.
“Those who don’t intend to violate [this sovereignty] have no reason to worry,” she said.
The South China Sea issue has been brewing for years, with China, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam making competing claims in waters with vital global shipping routes and what are believed to be significant oil and natural gas deposits.
In addition to land-reclamation efforts on reefs it controls and building civilian facilities there, China also has air bases, radar and communications systems, naval facilities and defensive weaponry in place including landing strips able to accommodate military planes.
The new Chinese missiles were reportedly deployed on Fiery Cross Reef, Subi Reef and Mischief Reef, according to CNBC.
They are all in the Spratly archipelago located in waters south of mainland China between Vietnam and the Philippines.
Beijing’s territorial claims, based on its own historical records, have also pitted it against the United States.
While Washington takes no position on the sovereignty claims, it has raised concerns that Beijing is “militarizing” the South China Sea.
The US Navy itself frequently sends warships and aircraft carriers to patrol the area.
“China has to realize that they’ve benefited from the free navigation of the sea, and the US Navy has been the guarantor of that,” Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said.
“We will continue to do our operations.”
China’s defense ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment but has previously stressed that the islands were “part of Chinese territory” and that it was up to China alone to decide what it does there.
Based on the CNBC report, the land-based anti-ship cruise missiles, designated as YJ-12B, allow China to strike surface vessels within 295 nautical miles of the reefs.
The long-range surface-to-air missiles, designated as HQ-9B, have an expected range of targeting aircraft, drones and cruise missiles within 160 nautical miles.
Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said President Rodrigo Duterte should leverage his warm personal relationship with Chinese leaders to convince them to stop militarizing the illegally claimed islands of the West Philippine Sea.
The President, he added, needs to cash in whatever political capital he has with Beijing and ask it to honor its pledge to keep the West Philippine Sea a zone of peace and freedom of navigation.
He also said the President can serve as a peacemaker and get all major powers to de-escalate the tension in the area and prevent it from being a flashpoint.
“Now that positive steps are under way to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, the same must prevail in the WPS. We cannot defuse tension in one place in Asia only to heighten it in another,” said Recto.
In the House, lawmakers condemned the installation of missiles on territory claimed by the Philippines.
ACT Teachers Party-list Reps. Antonio Tinio and France Castro demanded the Duterte administration assert the country’s claims over Kalayaan group of islands, and to enforce the July 2013 International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea decision favoring the Philippines.
“We strongly condemn the installation of anti-ship cruise missiles and surface-to-air missile systems in the West Philippine Sea,” Tinio said. “The Chinese has also set up missiles in the Mischief Reef, which, according to the ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, is part of the exclusive economic zone [EEZ] of the Philippines. The Duterte administration must not ignore the deployment of the first Chinese missile in the Spratly island where several Asian countries have rival claims and leave it without protest.”
“We demand immediate withdrawal of the missiles and the dismantling of Chinese bases in Philippine territories. We also demand President Duterte to protect the sovereignty of our country, stress our claims in the West Philippine Sea and enforce the July 2013 ITLOS decision,” Tinio added.
Magdalo Party-list Rep. Gary Alejano said the actions and continuous aggression of China in the West Philippine Sea are obviously threats to our national security.
“I call on the Duterte administration to wake up from its long doze, silence and inaction. Let us not let China’s sweet talk of investments and loans lull us into a false sense of security. Their actions clearly belie their pronouncements,” Alejano, an opposition lawmaker, said.
“We must raise this matter in all possible forums as a grave concern not only to us, but to the whole region. The recent events also heighten the need to have a legally binding Code of Conduct as soon as possible,” Alejano added. With AFP