JUST how extensive is Beijing’s reclamation activities in the West Philippine Sea where we have our Exclusive Economic Zone or EEZ?
Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, the Philippine Navy spokesperson, disclosed recently that the total reclaimed area within our EEZ and outside our EEZ is roughly around 3,000 hectares.
“Is there a creeping invasion? Yes, and this has begun since 1992 when we started noticing Chinese markers in the expanse of the West Philippine Sea and the South China Sea,” he said.
According to the Navy official, Beijing’s major bases in the vital waterway like Subi (Zamora), Mischief (Panganiban) and Johnson Reefs are “already militarized.”
“They have airstrips. They have harbors for warships. There are structures on land that we could only surmise are aircraft hangars. They have military-grade communications equipment,” he pointed out.
There’s more.
In Subi, there’s heavy equipment, as well as structures being built. Mischief and Johnson Reefs are within the country’s 370-kilometer EEZ.
The military has also monitored the presence of the Chinese research vessel Ke Xue San Hao at Escoda, after leaving Mischief Reef. The ship has not requested the Department of Foreign Affairs to survey the area.
The Philippine Navy is monitoring the presence of the Chinese research vessel to check if the presence of crushed corals has been man-made.
To ensure that they are not man-made, the Navy has stationed a ship there.
China has carried out extensive land reclamation on some islands in the South China Sea, building air force and other military facilities, causing concern in Washington and around the region.
A 2016 Pentagon report said China has reclaimed more than 3,200 acres (around 1,300 hectares) of land in the southeastern part of the South China Sea.
There’s no doubt that Beijing intends to militarize the entire South China Sea despite conflicting territorial claims by the Philippines and other countries. This could be the subject of another arbitration case against China in an international tribunal.
Maritime law expert and University of the Philippines College of law Prof. Jay Batongbacal earlier said Mischief Reef was the largest artificial island in the South China Sea with port facilities that service the People’s Liberation Army’s Navy, China Coast Guard and China maritime militia fleets.
The reef has been armed with anti-air and anti-ship missiles, radars, jammers and it is also the closest Chinese military base to the Philippines.
Beijing has continued its militarization and reclamation activities in the South China Sea despite a 2016 arbitral ruling invalidating its expansive claims in the strategic waterway.
This must not go unimpeded nor unchallenged.
The Philippine Coast Guard’s BRP Teresa Magbanua has remained at Escoda (Sabina) Shoal following the reported presence of Chinese maritime militias and reclamation activities in the area.
But Beijing’s so-called “monster” ship, the 165-meter China Coast Guard vessel, has also been anchored in the resource-rich shoal since July 3.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines has reported the number of Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea has increased tremendously in recent years.
Our military has Top of FormBottom of Formreported that 122 Chinese vessels, including three Chinese warships, have been swarming in various areas of the WPS from July 30 to Aug. 5 compared to the 104 Chinese vessels monitored the week before.
All this tells us that Beijing’s actions are geared towards military confrontation rather than dialogue or negotiation that its spokespersons repeat ad nauseam at every opportunity.
No, we should firmly oppose China’s shrill—and dangerous—insistence that might is right.
