The Philippines yesterday rejected China’s accusation that Manila had illegally intruded into the waters surrounding Scarborough Shoal.
“These are all part of shaping or malign info operations more likely for their internal audience,” Philippine Navy spokesperson for the West Philippines (WPS) Commodore Roy Vincent Trinidad said im a statement.
“Only the Philippine Navy and other Philippine flagged law enforcement ships have the authority and legal bases to challenge any ship within maritime zones,” he added.
This statement was in response to a wire agency report quoting China’s Southern Theatre Navy, which alleged that a Philippine frigate had “illegally intruded” into Scarborough Shoal’s waters on Sunday. China further accused the Philippines of “seriously violating” its sovereignty and laws.
Scarborough Shoal, also known as Bajo de Masinloc or Panatag Shoal, lies 124 nautical miles off Masinloc, Zambales, and is within the Philippines’ 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Tensions remain high as Beijing continues to assert its claim over nearly the entire South China Sea, a vital trade route for over $3 trillion in annual shipborne commerce. These claims overlap with territories asserted by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei.
The Philippine government has renamed parts of the South China Sea within its territory as the West Philippine Sea to assert its claim. This area includes the waters west of the Philippine archipelago, encompassing the Luzon Sea, the Kalayaan Island Group, and Bajo de Masinloc.
In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines, declaring China’s claims in the South China Sea as having “no legal basis.” However, Beijing has consistently refused to recognize the ruling.