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Reed Bank's position within the Philippines' EEZ. (Wikimedia Commons photo)
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The chief of the Philippines Navy on Monday (Aug. 10) called on his government to protest the presence of Chinese ships near Reed (Recto) Bank and accused the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) of trying to provoke the Philippines into firing the "first shot" in a potential conflict over disputed South China Sea islands.
On Monday, Vice Admiral Giovanni Bacordo urged the Philippine government to lodge a protest with Beijing over the presence of two Chinese surveying vessels near Reed Bank, which is only 85 nautical miles (157.4 kilometers) off the coast of the province of Palawan. Reed Bank is a submerged tablemount considered to be rich in hydrocarbons.
The Hague's Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016 ruled that the area is well within the Philippines’ 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ), contrary to Chinese claims based on its nine-dash line. However, on July 27, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte appeared to capitulate to China's demands by saying he "cannot do anything" to halt the communist country's seizure of territory in the South China Sea and that it is already "in possession" of the disputed waters.
A little over a week after Duterte's comments, the Philippine navy on Aug. 9 confirmed that two Chinese surveying vessels had been spotted near Reed Bank. According to the ship-tracking website MarineTraffic, the two vessels had departed from Guangzhou on July 22 and arrived near the disputed territory on Aug. 6.
Bacordo told the Foreign Correspondents Association of The Philippines that the incident has been reported and a request to file a protest has been submitted. The admiral alleged that Chinese navy, coast guard, and fishing vessels are continuing to "loiter" inside his country's EEZ and appear to be attempting to provoke Philippine ships into a confrontation.
In reference to an incident in February in which a PLAN warship locked its radar guns on a Philippine corvette, Barco said that whenever ships from the two navies confront each other in the contested waters, "the first one to fire the shot becomes the loser. So they will do everything for us to take aggressive action," reported The Australian.
Bacordo then elaborated that he defined "loser" thusly because the "one who fires the first shot loses international [support], public support, because in so many of our engagements, we should resolve our issues through peaceful means," reported The Manila Times. "First to fire shots, first to lose support," concluded the navy chief.
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea dictates that a country wishing to conduct a survey in another nation's EEZ should receive formal consent first. Manila has not yet provided any public acknowledgment that such permission was given.
https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3985589
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The chief of the Philippines Navy on Monday (Aug. 10) called on his government to protest the presence of Chinese ships near Reed (Recto) Bank and accused the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) of trying to provoke the Philippines into firing the "first shot" in a potential conflict over disputed South China Sea islands.
On Monday, Vice Admiral Giovanni Bacordo urged the Philippine government to lodge a protest with Beijing over the presence of two Chinese surveying vessels near Reed Bank, which is only 85 nautical miles (157.4 kilometers) off the coast of the province of Palawan. Reed Bank is a submerged tablemount considered to be rich in hydrocarbons.
The Hague's Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016 ruled that the area is well within the Philippines’ 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ), contrary to Chinese claims based on its nine-dash line. However, on July 27, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte appeared to capitulate to China's demands by saying he "cannot do anything" to halt the communist country's seizure of territory in the South China Sea and that it is already "in possession" of the disputed waters.
A little over a week after Duterte's comments, the Philippine navy on Aug. 9 confirmed that two Chinese surveying vessels had been spotted near Reed Bank. According to the ship-tracking website MarineTraffic, the two vessels had departed from Guangzhou on July 22 and arrived near the disputed territory on Aug. 6.
Bacordo told the Foreign Correspondents Association of The Philippines that the incident has been reported and a request to file a protest has been submitted. The admiral alleged that Chinese navy, coast guard, and fishing vessels are continuing to "loiter" inside his country's EEZ and appear to be attempting to provoke Philippine ships into a confrontation.
In reference to an incident in February in which a PLAN warship locked its radar guns on a Philippine corvette, Barco said that whenever ships from the two navies confront each other in the contested waters, "the first one to fire the shot becomes the loser. So they will do everything for us to take aggressive action," reported The Australian.
Bacordo then elaborated that he defined "loser" thusly because the "one who fires the first shot loses international [support], public support, because in so many of our engagements, we should resolve our issues through peaceful means," reported The Manila Times. "First to fire shots, first to lose support," concluded the navy chief.
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea dictates that a country wishing to conduct a survey in another nation's EEZ should receive formal consent first. Manila has not yet provided any public acknowledgment that such permission was given.
https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3985589
