RP slams China 'build up' in Spratlys

RP slams China 'build up' in Spratlys

MANILA (Reuters): The Philippines on Thursday accused China of beefing up its position on a reef in the disputed Spratly Islands by sending armed military and cargo ships to the area and called Beijing's action a "security threat."

Foreign undersecretary Leonides Caday summoned the Chinese ambassador in Manila and handed him a two-page protest note demanding the dismantling of structures built by the Chinese in the area, known by the provocative name Mischief Reef.

"We were informed that the Chinese are building several structures on Mischief Reef and have sent several naval ships there, including two armed military vessels with helipads," presidential spokesman Jerry Barican said in a statement.

Philippine officials accused China of escalating tension in the Spratlys and said the Chinese action, monitored by Philippine Air Force reconnaissance planes, was a potential security threat.

Chinese ambassador Guan Deng Ming told reporters China was "committed to maintain good relations" with the Philippines and added: "We are following the consensus...to maintain peace in the South China Sea."

Believed to be potentially rich in oil and gas, the Spratlys consist of 190 mostly barren isles, reefs, atolls and sand bars scattered over an area of 390,000 square kilometer in the South China Sea.

Flashpoint

Diplomats have called the Spratlys -- claimed wholly or in part by China, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei -- a potential Asian flashpoint.

Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado showed reporters color photographs of three Chinese navy vessels taken by Philippine reconnaissance planes on Oct. 28.

There were four other smaller vessels in the group and a picture showed one of them was loaded with timber.

Mercado said the naval ships were escorting cargo vessels ferrying construction materials to the area "for the purpose of reinforcing their structures in Mischief Reef."

But this was a violation of a code of conduct and other declarations signed by the two countries calling on Spratlys claimants not to undertake provocative action, he said.

A senior army official told Reuters the alleged Chinese naval ships stayed in the area for several days but that as of last Monday they had left and only two or three fishing vessels remained.

"These are clear indications that they are potential security threats to the sovereignty and integrity of the Philippines," he said.

Mercado said Chinese authorities had notified the Philippine ambassador in Beijing they were going to renovate the structures on Mischief Reef but when the notice was given the Chinese vessels were already there.

"It raises the alarm that there are other intentions on the part of the Chinese, that the Chinese are up to something," Mercado said.

The reef has been a source of tension between the two countries since 1995 when Manila accused Beijing of building what it said looked like naval support structures.

The structures -- seen by reporters flown by the Philippine military over the area in 1995 -- included what looked like quarters and barracks linked by walkways and resting on stilts.