Manila, Philippines - Malacañang asserted yesterday that the Reed Bank in western Palawan is Philippine territory and not among the disputed islets and atolls in the South China Sea.
The Palace made the clarification in the wake of the reported intrusion of Chinese warplanes into Philippine airspace, particularly over Reed Bank where oil explorations were being conducted by the Philippine government in partnership with several foreign investors, including a United Kingdom-based energy and oil exploration firm.
The statement also came on the day of the arrival of Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie for a five-day visit.
“We’ve been saying this quite consistently in the past few weeks that Reed Bank is not a disputed area, it is not part of Spratlys,” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said over radio dzRB.
“Reed Bank is in western Palawan, that is ours. We’ve been trying to get this out, please do not mistake that Reed Bank is part of Spratlys because that is quite far and that makes a big difference because Reed Bank is not part of the disputed area - there has been no question about the ownership of Reed Bank,” Valte said.
The two Chinese jet fighters reportedly buzzed two Philippine Air Force OV-10 Broncos on routine reconnaissance patrol in the area on Thursday last week.
Valte said the Philippine government is still verifying the incident and would take appropriate action, including filing a diplomatic protest, based on the results of investigation.
“But if verified that there is really such an incident, of course, we have advocated that the resolution of these incidents will be done diplomatically and peacefully,” Valte said.
She said the Palace would also check reports that Philippine forces had shot and wounded two Vietnamese fishermen in the disputed Spratlys earlier this month.
Vietnamese police quoted families of the wounded fishermen as saying that the attackers wore Philippine military uniforms.
Aside from the Philippines and Vietnam, China, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan claim all or part of the Spratly group of islands.