Chinese fishing boats continue to gather at Whitsun Reef in South China Sea to collect data
More than 200 Chinese vessels continue to gather near Whitsun Reef in the disputed South China Sea, sparking strong discontent in the Philippines, which has rejected the Communist Party’s claim that the vessels are “temporarily sheltering from the storm” and demanded their prompt departure. Other Chinese military documents show that a militarized base in the South China Sea is collecting data that could be used to support military purposes in the future.
The Philippine National Working Group on the West Philippine Sea issued a statement on March 20 saying that about 220 Chinese fishing boats have been gathering around NiuYuYao Reef since March 7, raising concerns in neighboring Philippines. According to the Associated Press, the Philippine military on Thursday (25) ordered the deployment of more naval vessels in the South China Sea for “sovereignty patrols. The Chinese government responded by saying the fishing boats were only temporarily sheltering from bad weather and denied claims of “Chinese maritime militia boats,” but the Philippines remains suspicious, and on the morning of March 22, the Philippine Air Force observed 183 other boats staying near NiuYue Reef.
Ngau Yoke Reef is part of the Spratly Islands, west of Palawan Island in the Philippines, which China, the Philippines and Vietnam all claim. Antonio Carpio, a former Philippine Supreme Court justice who has long studied South China Sea issues, told Philippine media ABS-CBN that this could be a prelude to China’s occupation and establishment of a naval base, and he fears a repeat of the 1995 Mischief Reef incident.
Chinese ships gathered around Ngau Yoke Reef
“First they (China) said they were just building fishermen’s shelters on Mischief Reef. But now Mischief Reef is their air and naval base, which they call the Pearl Harbor of the South China Sea.” Carpio said.
Gregory B. Poling, director of the Asian Maritime Transparency Initiative program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington think tank, told the station that dozens of Chinese militia vessels have been anchored near the Philippine-owned islands for a long Time in recent years, and that with the completion of the construction of ports at China’s bases on Mischief Reef and Subi Reefs, China has been able to As many as 300 militia vessels can be stationed here and can be deployed whenever needed.
“The use of large numbers of militia vessels has become a key strategic deployment for the Chinese Communist Party to control the disputed waters of the South China Sea,” he said, adding that “this deployment has been underway for at least a year on Niuyu Reef and appears to be aimed at controlling the waters around Union Banks. “
In addition, according to U.S. online media outlet BenarNews, Chinese military and other documents indicate that new military bases in China’s Spratly Islands are collecting South China Sea-related data to support construction projects in the area, help improve naval weapons and underwater communications, and potentially support amphibious landing operations or other uses by the Chinese Communist Party in the future.
This data includes hydrographic, meteorological, bathymetric and tidal data. China’s PLA Daily has noted that tides are an important factor in the maritime battlefield environment.
“In recent years, whenever Beijing has chosen to focus on something, it has stepped up its efforts to a scale and intensity that its adversaries cannot directly match.” Andrew Erickson, a professor at the U.S. Naval War College, explained.
Erickson’s letter, published on Foreign Policy’s website on the 22nd, opens with more than two hundred ships around NiuYue Reef, describing the CCP’s ambition and strategy to militarize the South China Sea. He points out that these ships carry an arsenal of weapons that should not be ignored, especially when the CCP ignores international regulations that threaten the sovereignty of its neighbors, and that the United States and its allies should scrutinize the CCP’s every word and action.
“Put on the uniform and be a qualified soldier, take off the uniform and be a qualified citizen.” In his tweet, Ericsson specifically quoted a headline from the Chinese Communist Party’s PLA Daily in Chinese stating that the vessels have a military function.
China claims sovereignty over the “nine-dash line” in the South China Sea, but after the Philippines filed a lawsuit in 2016 with the International Court of Justice in The Hague over the issue, the court ruled that Beijing does not have “historical rights” to the South China Sea, and the Chinese Communist Party’s militarization of the South China Sea in recent years has raised international concerns. The court ruled that Beijing does not have “historical rights” to the South China Sea.
U.S. Secretary of State John Blinken also criticized China’s militarization of the South China Sea, which threatens the freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, in a speech at NATO headquarters on 24 March. However, Hua Chunying of the Chinese Foreign Ministry responded that the “militarization of the South China Sea” could not be put on the head of the Chinese Communist Party.
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