China becoming ‘more aggressive’—Philippines

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, center, greets her counterpart Albert del Rosario of Philippines during the Asean-US Ministerial Meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wednesday, July 11, 2012. Del Rosario said Wednesday that China is growing “more aggressive” after a fresh spat erupted between Tokyo and Beijing over a remote chain of islands. AP PHOTO/HENG SINITH

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia—China is growing “more aggressive” in dealing with rival territorial claims, the Philippines said Wednesday, after a fresh spat erupted between Tokyo and Beijing over a remote chain of islands.

“It looks like they are becoming more aggressive every day,” said Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario, whose own country is locked in a months-long dispute with China over a shoal in the South China Sea.

Beijing on Wednesday asserted its “indisputable sovereignty” over the uninhabited territory in the East China Sea after three Chinese patrol boats approached the islands, prompting Japan to summon the Chinese ambassador.

The dispute, which centers around islands in the East China Sea known as Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese, is the latest territorial row involving China and its neighbors.

It comes as China and Southeast Asian countries struggle to make progress on a code of conduct to ease tension in the resource-rich West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

Tensions have flared recently in the area with both Vietnam and the Philippines accusing Beijing of aggression.

China claims essentially all of the West Philippine Sea, home to vital shipping lanes and believed to be rich in oil and gas deposits. Taiwan and Asean members the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei and Malaysia also have claims in the waters.

Foreign ministers from across the region are currently meeting in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh for a week-long security forum, which has been dominated by efforts to ease friction over the competing claims.

A joint statement by the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) has been held up as countries wrangle over whether to include a reference to recent incidents in the West Philippine Sea.

Del Rosario told reporters in Phnom Penh it had been a “difficult” day, adding that he was still pushing for a mention of the tense situation in the Scarborough Shoal, a group of rocky outcrops also claimed by China.