DESPITE ardent calls by the international community to halt its military assertion in the West Philippine (South China) Sea, China remains undaunted in reiterating its “indisputable sovereignty” and has moved forward with its reclamation activities.
While the Philippines was enjoying the New Year revelries, China was busy completing the construction of a 3,125-meter-long airfield on Kagitingan Reef in the highly-contested Spratly archipelago. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) confirmed that China recently used a civilian plane to conduct a flight testing in the Philippine-claimed reef.
Vietnam, which also claims Kagitingan and calls the reef “Da Chu Thap,” immediately protested China’s recent actions. Le Hai Binh, a spokesperson for the Vietnamese foreign ministry, said the test flight violated Vietnam’s sovereignty, breached mutual understanding and hurt bilateral relations. Vietnam also warned China to immediately stop and not to repeat similar actions.
China rejected Vietnam’s protest. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said the test flight to Kagitingan, which the Chinese call Yongshu Island, was to “test whether or not the facilities on it meet the standards for civil aviation” and a matter “completely within China’s sovereignty.”
Washington also criticized China’s recent actions, saying that the test flight had exacerbated tensions in the region. Pooja Jhunjhunwala, a spokesperson for the US State Department, said there was “a pressing need for claimants to publicly commit to a reciprocal halt to further land reclamation, construction of new facilities and militarization of disputed features.”
The US encouraged all claimants to actively reduce tensions by refraining from unilateral actions that undermine regional stability, and taking steps to create space for meaningful diplomatic solutions to emerge.
The Philippines, Vietnam and China, along with Brunei, Malaysia, and Taiwan, have competing claims to parts of the West Philippine (South China) Sea. China claims the largest swathe of the strategic water, which is believed to have significant oil and gas deposits. Over the last two years, it has been increasingly assertive in pressing its claims over the disputed waters against its smaller neighbors.
According to a report, “China has piled sand atop seven reefs in the Spratlys, on at least two of which it has built airstrips, radar installations and docking facilities. Besides Kagitingan, China has built artificial islands on Calderon (Cuarteron), Burgos (Gaven), Mabini (Johnson South), Panganiban (Mischief), Zamora (Subi) and McKennan (Hughes) reefs, all claimed by the Philippines and within the country’s 370-kilometer exclusive economic zone recognized under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.” China claims that the new facilities will strictly be used to provide civilian services, including maritime search and rescue, navigation aid, marine research, and even weather observation.
Manila has already taken its claim for arbitration to a United Nations-backed international tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS). China, however, refused to participate in the arbitration. The United Nations Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague is expected to hand down a resolution by June.
While this pressing international matter calls for a swift conclusion, it must undergo such tedious process to reach a peaceful resolution. This is the essence of international law, which was built by principles based on universally accepted values and moral standards. (AJPress)
