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.