Intruders must quit Mischief Reef
Intruders must quit Mischief Reef
MANILA (Agencies): President Fidel Ramos, in a thinly veiled
attack on China for its occupation of a reef in the South China
Sea claimed by Manila, said yesterday that intruders should
"depart and leave us in peace".
Ramos did not mention China by name in a speech in northern
Baguio city on Philippine security but he was clearly referring
to what Manila says is a Chinese buildup on Mischief Reef in the
disputed Spratly Islands.
Ramos said that, as commander in chief of the armed forces, he
would not allow any slackening of the nation's defenses.
"For the nation to flourish, its security must be assured, and
the military's historic role as the watchman of democracy and
protector of our sovereignty and territorial integrity will be as
vital as ever," he told an alumni homecoming of the Philippine
Military Academy.
"And if there be any intruders into our territory or exclusive
economic zone, we shall ask them to depart and to leave us in
peace," he added.
The government says Mischief reef, 135 nautical miles west of
the western Philippine island of Palawan, is part of the Kalayaan
(Freedom) group which Manila is claiming in the Spratly area.
The Spratlys, potentially rich in oil, is being claimed wholly
or in part by China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia
and Brunei.
Manila has accused Beijing of building what it said looked
like a possible naval support installation over the reef and of
sending armed ships to the area.
China has said the facilities were built by local Chinese
fishing authorities and intended as shelter for fishermen.
The Philippine military has sent its entire fleet of five
aging F-5 fighter jets, several helicopters and trainer jets to
the Kalayaan area to monitor the Chinese movements.
Meanwhile, Malaysia announced yesterday it planned to keep
clear of an escalating conflict between the Philippines and China
over the Spratlys, saying military action would not resolve the
dispute on the South China Sea islands.
"We have no plans to get involved in the present situation,"
Malaysian Defense Minister Najib Tun Razak said after Manila
increased its military presence in the Spratlys to protest a
structure and warships installed by China at a reef claimed by
the Philippines.
"We feel diplomacy and international laws would solve the
overlapping claims issue, as military confrontation would not
lead anywhere," Najib said.