RP plays down reports of intrusion by Vietnam
RP plays down reports of intrusion by Vietnam
MANILA (Reuter): The Philippines, riled by Chinese occupation of a South China Sea coral reef it says belongs to Manila, played down yesterday reports of similar Vietnamese activities in the area.
President Fidel Ramos said Vietnamese installations in a cluster of isles in the Spratly Islands claimed by Manila were built long before the signing of a Manila declaration in 1992 urging a peaceful settlement to the Spratlys territorial row.
"I think what is being reported is old construction already there for quite some time," Ramos told his weekly news conference.
Foreign Secretary Roberto Romulo said the 1992 accord established a "new norm of friendly conduct" among Spratly claimants which China violated by construction on Mischief Reef in the Kalayaan group claimed by the Philippines.
The Vietnamese intrusions occurred before 1992, he said.
Military intelligence sources said the Vietnamese facilities consisted of naval garrisons armed with light to medium weapons built in the 1980s on four isles in Kalayaan.
The Vietnamese buildup could give China an excuse not to withdraw from Mischief Reef, the sources said.
"Before 1992, there have been instances where people have taken over islands which others claim," Romulo said.
"That is the case at hand with Vietnam. But since July 1992, nobody has done that except that instance in Mischief Reef, and that is our cause for concern."
The Philippines last week released pictures of the Chinese structures built on stilts which it said looked like a possible naval support installation.
The Spratlys are claimed wholly or in part by China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.
Three of the claimants - Malaysia, the Philippines and Brunei - were signatories to the Manila declaration of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which also includes Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore.
Both Vietnam and China, although not members of ASEAN, have also adhered to the declaration.
"At that time, all of ASEAN signed and Vietnam and China acceded to that declaration," Romulo said.
"Since then, everyone has exercised self-restraint. What happened in Mischief Reef was the exact opposite of self- restraint."
The Philippines is strengthening its meager forces in the Kalayaan area and has lodged a strong protest with
The Mischief Reef incident spurred the Senate to pass by a 19- 0 vote a long pending bill on Thursday for the modernization of the country's ill-equipped armed forces.
The bill, calling for 50 billion pesos (US$2 billion) over a five-year period, provides for the acquisition of jet fighters, modern patrol craft, radar and other equipment.
Passage of the measure should send a message to neighboring countries that "we value our territorial integrity", Senator Orlando Mercado, its author, said.
"This bill wants to say that we may not be prepared to defend our territories now, but we will not remain (like this) for long," he said.