RP destroys more Chinese structures in Spratlys
RP destroys more Chinese structures in Spratlys
MANILA (Agencies): President Fidel Ramos said yesterday that Philippine troops had destroyed more structures put up by China on the disputed Spratly islands.
The president also rejected Beijing's appeals to free 62 fishermen arrested in the area last weekend, saying they had been destroying the environment and "deserve condemnation by the international community."
He said the Philippine navy "was forced to destroy various structures which were found to be made of metal frames, and remove markers with Chinese characters" on the Thomas 1 and Thomas 2 shoals, Half Moon Shoal and Pennsylvania Reef.
Armed Forces Chief Gen. Arturo Enrile earlier said the Navy had dynamited Chinese-made territorial markers on Jackson Atoll, Half Moon Shoal and Sabina Reef, which all form part of the South China Sea archipelago.
He said the nearest of these markers were a mere 80.64 kilometers from the southwestern Philippine island of Palawan "and therefore clearly within Philippine territory."
The fishermen were arrested on Half Moon Shoal on Saturday aboard four boats, Ramos said. The Navy earlier said the fishermen has been arrested on Alicia Annie Reef, which manila claims.
The fishermen, aboard four boats, had 40 live and 40 dead sea turtles, which are an internationally protected species, he said.
They also had red and blue corals, 20 liters of cyanide, "several hundred sticks of dynamite and time delay fuses," he added.
The Spratly row between the two countries broke out last month after Manila discovered Chinese observation structures on Mischief Reef which were being protected by Chinese naval vessels.
The South China Sea archipelago is also claimed in whole or in part by Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam.
Meanwhile, Taiwan plans to send armed patrol boats to reinforce claims to sovereignty over the disputed Spratly and Pratas islands in the South China Sea, the state-funded Central News Agency said yesterday.
The agency also quoted police commander Yang Tsu-ching as saying Taiwan will erect a monument to emphasize sovereignty over Taiping island, the biggest island in the Spratlys, which is currently occupied by Taiwanese marines.
The patrol boats will be armed with two heavy machineguns, and all the crew members will be equipped with either M-16 automatic rifles or Uzi submachine guns, the agency said.
The Pratas islands are controlled by Taiwan but also claimed by China.
No date was given for dispatching the patrol or setting up the monument on Taiping island. Police and government spokesmen could not be reached for comment yesterday due to a national holiday in Taiwan.
In April last year, a group of Taiwan police made their first- ever patrol of the Spratly islands. The then-interior minister Wu Poh-hsiung said Taiwan would patrol the Spratlys every year thereafter.
The news agency cited "observers" as saying Taiwan's planned move was "low-profile... compared with the warships and jet fighters sent into the area by neighboring countries".
The planned move "can be interpreted as a gesture from Taiwan that it wants the dispute over the island groups settled peacefully," the agency added.