China's involvement in firefight with RP denied<\/p>\n
BEIJING (AFP): China yesterday denied allegations that a
\nChinese vessel had been involved in a clash this week with a
\nPhilippine navy gunboat in the South China Sea.<\/p>\n
"As we have learned, this matter has nothing to do with the
\nChinese side," said a foreign ministry spokesman in a curt
\nresponse to journalists' questions about the reported incident
\noff the west coast of the Philippines on Monday.<\/p>\n
A Philippine navy official said the gunboat had traded fire
\nwith one of two vessels flying the Chinese flag which intruded
\ninto Philippine waters off Capones Island, near the former U.S.
\nnaval base at Subic Bay northwest of Manila, and that the enemy
\nboat had sustained "casualties."<\/p>\n
The Philippine vessel suffered no casualties in the 90-minute
\nfire-fight, said the official, who asked not to be named.<\/p>\n
The incident occurred after the Philippine gunboat, which had
\nbeen on patrol in the area, fired warning shorts at the two
\nintruders.<\/p>\n
The report made no mention of what type or size the two other
\nboats were, or if they were civilian or military. But the Navy
\nseparately issued a report saying the intruders were suspected
\nChinese smugglers.<\/p>\n
The military gave no details on the size of the Philippine
\nvessel or why the information was being made public nearly four
\ndays after the incident.<\/p>\n
One boat, bearing the numbers 04420 on its bow, responded by
\nspeeding towards the open sea, while the other attempted to ram
\nthe patrol boat and then opened fire, prompting the Philippine
\nvessel to reply, the official said.<\/p>\n
The second enemy ship then also sped away into the South China
\nSea, he said, adding that the patrol boat stopped its pursuit
\nwhen it ran out of fuel.<\/p>\n
The incident followed an increase in tension between China and
\nthe Philippines in the past year over rival claims to the Spratly
\nIslands in the South China Sea.<\/p>\n
Manila last year alleged that China had built and occupied
\npermanent military structures on the Philippine-claimed Mischief
\nReef.<\/p>\n
The islands, believed to lie over rich oil deposits, are
\nclaimed in whole or in part by Brunei, China, Malaysia, the
\nPhilippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.<\/p>\n
Last March, the Philippine Navy subsequently blew up unmanned
\nboundary markers set up by the Chinese navy in nearby areas, but
\nMonday's incident was the first serious incident involving the
\nPhilippines in the South China Sea since then.<\/p>\n
A U.S. official warned here this week that Beijing may be
\nready to militarize the dispute over the archipelago, which is
\nbelieved to sit atop rich oil deposits.<\/p>\n
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific
\nAffairs Winston Lord said the mainland Chinese were "clearly
\nbuilding up their capability for the Taiwan Strait, for the South
\nChina Sea."<\/p>\n
Earlier in the week, former British Prime Minister Margaret
\nThatcher said here that China was "going to be a much more
\nformidable military power than it is today" given the pace of its
\neconomic growth.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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