Military wary of Chinese in Panatag shoal

MILITARY officials said Thursday they were worried that Chinese forces might put up markers or structures on the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the West Philippine Sea to bolser Beijing’s claim to the area.

“We will wake up one day and see markers or a small structure already planted inside or outside the lagoon to boost their claim,” said a ranking military official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

“That’s why we’re closely monitoring their activities. We have two ships there but they might not detect all their activities especially at night.”

There were seven Chinese maritime surveillance vessels and eight fishing vessels near the shoal as of Wednesday morning.

“The seven vessels are merchant ships, the FLEC and CMS that we earlier reported, plus the fishing vessels,” another military official said.

“China has 15 vessels at the shoal now.”

Officials said China had sent up to 90 vessels to the shoal in the past weeks.

The Philippines has only two vessels near the shoal—one from the Coast Guard and one from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.

The standoff between the Philippines and China started on April 10, when Chinese vessels stopped the Philippine warship BRP Gregorio del Pilar from arresting Chinese fishermen who were suspected of illegally harvesting giant clams and endangered marine resources in the area.

Since then, China has sent more vessels to boost its claim to the shoal, which Philippine officials say is well within the country’s 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone.

China, however, claims the shoal, which is more than 800 nautical miles from its nearest shore, as its own.

Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin is expected to give more details about his meeting with China’s Defense Minister Liang Guanglie in Cambodia.

Liang on Thursday urged the Philippines to be “discreet in both words and deeds” over the issue and make tangible steps toward regional peace and stability.

A Navy official on Thursday said China was using the Scarborough Shoal as a test case for its bigger claims along the entire stretch of the South China Sea.

“If ever they will be successful at Panatag [Scarborough], then they have all the reasons to claim Recto [Reed] Bank, which is their main target,” the official said.

“The reef’s underground has a lot of oil.”

The reef is part of the disputed Spratly Islands.

The Philippines and China aside, other claimants to the Spratlys are Vietnam, Taiwan, Brunei and Malaysia.-Manila Standard Today (June 01, 2012)