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.