Malacañang kept mum yesterday on the reported pullout of a majority of Chinese vessels that dropped anchor last week near the Philippine-occupied Pag-asa Island in the Spratlys region.
Some security officials, however, are skeptical about the alleged pullout of vessels and believe that the Chinese poachers may still return to the area.
Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said they are still awaiting the official report of the Philippine Navy on the matter.
“We have consulted with the Department of Foreign Affairs and they say that we have not gotten (the official report). So far, it only appeared in news reports,” Valte told state-run radio dzRB.
“We have not gotten any official report from the Philippine Navy so we will not comment on it. That is our understanding with the Department of Foreign Affairs,” she added.
Malacañang remained tight-lipped despite reports about Chinese fishermen bringing live corals and marine turtles without being stopped by Philippine authorities.
“We will defer comment until we have received an official report from the Philippine Navy not just on the reported pullout in the vicinity of Pag-asa Island but as well as reports that they have taken away our corals and other marine life,” Valte said.
However, security sources told The STAR that the Chinese might still return to the waters near Pag-asa Island to continue their fishing expedition.
An official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said China had not been honoring earlier commitments to pull out ships to ease tension in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea). The source said China is capable of doing it again to assert its claim in the area.
“I don’t believe they (Chinese vessels) have left the area for good. It may be temporary. They may return,” the official said.
Another source said the lack of capability has barred authorities from enforcing the country’s maritime laws.
The source said the lack of deterrents has enabled Chinese fishermen to continue poaching marine species from Philippine territory.
Valte declined to react to reports that China had launched its largest and most advanced patrol vessels in the West Philippine Sea.
Last Saturday, the Armed Forces Western Command (Wescom) reported that only two of the 20 Chinese fishing vessels that dropped anchor last Friday near Pag-asa island remain in the area.
“Except for the two remaining Chinese ships which we also monitored to be leaving the area, the rest of the Chinese fishing boats are gone,” Wescom spokesman Lt. Col. Niel Estrella said.
On Friday, the Chinese fleet composed of 20 ships was spotted to be only around five kilometers from Pag-asa, where bigger Chinese ships were previously seen harvesting corals.
The Philippines is claiming several islets, shoals, reefs and sandbars in the Spratly Group of Islands in the West Philippine Sea.
China claims virtually all of the West Philippine Sea while Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have overlapping territorial claims.
China has been beefing up its presence in the West Philippine Sea recently in a move seen by observers as an effort to assert its claim on the area.
Early this month, a huge fleet of Chinese fishing vessels arrived at the contested parts of the West Philippine Sea. The fleet reportedly includes a 3,000 ton supply ship and a patrol vessel.
China’s defense ministry also bared plans to establish a military garrison on a group of disputed islands.
The troops will operate from Sansha in the Paracel Islands, which is being claimed by both China and Vietnam.
China is also eyeing the construction of an airstrip adjacent to Pag-asa Island, a Philippine-held territory in the Spratlys.
The country has also installed a powerful radar in Subi Reef, just 12 nautical miles from Kalayaan.
China also maintained its presence in Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, 124 nautical miles from the nearest base point in Zambales. The Philippines’ ownership of the shoal is backed by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, to which China is a signatory.-The Philippine Star (July 30, 2012)
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