The Western Command is monitoring the presence of two Chinese military surveillance vessels that were reported to have been stationary since Tuesday afternoon near the Philippine-occupied Ayungin Shoal in the disputed Spratly’s region.
The Philippines Wednesday called on China to back off the country’s established maritime borders in the disputed West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), saying any foray into its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) would be a violation of international law.
China has sent one of its largest recorded fishing fleets to disputed islands in the South China Sea, state-run media said on Tuesday, amid tensions over Beijing’s assertion of its claims in the region.
The Aquino administration on Saturday said it sought United Nations arbitration as a “last resort” because China had refused to withdraw its ships from Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal), which the country insists is within Philippine territory.
The panel of five international arbitrators that would hear the Philippines’ case against China’s claims in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) has been completed, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Thursday.
The two-day summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) opened here Wednesday night with the Philippines looking to Brunei to push for an early conclusion of talks with China on a code of conduct in the South China Sea.
The European Parliament has expressed support for the Philippine decision to take China before the United Nations’ (UN) arbitral tribunal to settle disputes in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Tuesday.
The Philippines on Tuesday denounced China’s announced fishery patrols in the Spratly group of islands, as it asserted its sovereignty over its established maritime boundaries in the disputed West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).
The arbitration proceedings that the Philippines has initiated before the United Nations (UN) against China to nullify the latter’s “excessive” claims in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) will not stop despite Beijing’s rejection of the legal action, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
