In a bid to protect its assets from continued encroachment by Beijing, a Philippine government task force announced Wednesday (21) that the country is strengthening its maritime defenses, deploying nearly a dozen ships and five aircraft in the disputed South China Sea.
“We are using all possible means to protect our territory and exclusive economic zone,” the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) said in a statement on Wednesday. “
Despite four years of de-escalation with the Chinese Communist Party, the Philippines has stepped up its momentum in recent weeks to actively resist threatening behavior by Chinese vessels in its 200-mile exclusive economic zone.
The deployment is the latest step taken against the Chinese Communist Party. Manila has accused more than 240 Chinese fishing boats of “swarming” the area, which are actually militia boats backed by the Chinese government. But the Communist Party denies that there are militias on board.
After the Chinese government initially refused to recall its fishing fleet from coral reef waters, the Armed Forces of the Philippines ordered increased “maritime sovereignty patrols” around Bull Yoke Reef, known as Julian Felipe Reef, including daily patrols by Philippine fighter jets. The Philippine military this week deployed nearly 12 additional ships and five aircraft in the South China Sea to reinforce these ongoing sovereignty patrols.
The government task force said President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered authorities to continue “sovereignty patrols” and intensify resistance to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activities in its territorial waters.
The West Philippine Sea National Task Force also announced Wednesday that they are assisting in the construction of new infrastructure to support an increased military presence in the disputed area of the South China Sea near Manila.
The task force said, “A …… screened harbor and beach ramp has been built on Thitu Island (Thitu Island; known as Pag-asa Island in the Philippines) in the South China Sea, where an airstrip is being repaired. ” Zhongye Island is located in the Philippine chain of Spratly Islands (known as Spratly Islands in the Philippines), also claimed by the Communist Party of China.
The contingent said the infrastructure development will improve the transportation of goods, people and services, and promote investment in fisheries and tourism. Facilities to provide cell phone and data connections for residents of the CNMI are also being done by a telecommunications company, while the Philippine Department of Information and Communications Technology is building a facility to enable Wi-Fi coverage, The Philippine Star reported.
Duterte had been adamant Monday that he would assert his sovereign rights to oil and mineral resources in the exclusive economic zone and told the Chinese Communist Party that he would do the same if it started drilling for oil in the area.
An independent arbitration tribunal set up under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) ruled in 2016 that Beijing’s claim to nearly 90 percent of the South China Sea was illegal. Beijing rejects the ruling and continues to claim sovereignty over nearly all of the South China Sea.
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