Beijing says Phl protest on intrusions 'baseless'

BEIJING – China said accusations by the Philippines that three Chinese vessels entered its waters are “groundless.”

The Philippines said Sunday it had expressed concerns to China after two maritime ships and a naval vessel were separately spotted in the Escoda (Sabina) Shoal in the West Philippine Sea on Dec. 11 and Dec.12.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin told reporters Monday that China has indisputable sovereignty over the area.

He said China won’t accept the “groundless accusations” from the Philippines and expressed hopes the Philippines “won’t create something from nothing.”

“The communication between our two sides is always there,” Sun Yi, deputy chief of political section and spokesman for the Chinese embassy, said in Manila.

Citing reports from the Department of National Defense and the Armed Forces of the Philippines, two Chinese civilian ships were sighted in Escoda Shoal in the West Philippine Sea on Dec. 11, while a naval vessel was seen in the same area the following day.

Escoda Shoal is 123.6 nautical miles from Palawan and is within “Philippine sovereignty and maritime jurisdiction.”

Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said that “these intrusions of the Chinese are clear violations of the 2002 ASEAN-China Declaration on the Conduct of Parties (DOC) in the South China Sea as well as the provision of the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).”

In the wake of the reported intrusions, the Philippine Navy said it will deploy – for the first time – the newly commissioned BRP Gregorio del Pilar to the West Philippine Sea. The reconditioned World War II era US coast guard cutter is based in Palawan.

“This will be her first voyage in the West Philippine Sea,” Commodore Rustom Peña, commander of Naval Forces West, said.

But he stressed the coming deployment was routine and not a show of force.

“She would be on patrol for about 20 days and will drop anchor at Puerto Princesa City for an open house,” Peña said.

The three Chinese vessels were reportedly now in Mischief Reef, which is well within the country’s exclusive economic zone, according to the Western Command. – AP, Pia Lee-Brago, Jaime Laude