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Philippines: China ships spotted at disputed atoll have left Philippines: China ships spotted at disputed atoll have left
(35 minutes later)
MANILA, Philippines — Chinese coast guard ships were sighted two weeks ago at a disputed South China Sea atoll, sparking fears Beijing may take control of it, but they were gone when the Philippine government checked on Wednesday, the country’s top diplomat said.MANILA, Philippines — Chinese coast guard ships were sighted two weeks ago at a disputed South China Sea atoll, sparking fears Beijing may take control of it, but they were gone when the Philippine government checked on Wednesday, the country’s top diplomat said.
Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said it’s uncertain if the Chinese ships would return to Jackson Atoll in the Spratlys, adding Philippine defense authorities were constantly monitoring the disputed region. News reports implying that China has occupied the atoll may not be accurate, he said. In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said the Ministry of Transportation dispatched ships to salvage a fishing vessel that had run aground near Jackson Atoll in late 2015 and which posed a risk to navigation.
“They might be back tomorrow, they may not, but the defense authorities would have to observe,” del Rosario told reporters. During the operation, Chinese ships “persuaded fishing boats to leave the waters in an effort to ensure safety conditions for normal navigation,” Hong told reporters, adding the Chinese vessels returned home after completing their work.
Mayor Eugenio Bito-onon Jr., who heads a Philippine-claimed region in the disputed Spratly Islands, said he saw the Chinese ships at the atoll for two straight days last week while flying in a plane over the area. Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said it’s uncertain if the Chinese ships would return, adding Philippine defense authorities were monitoring the disputed region. “They might be back tomorrow, they may not,” del Rosario told reporters.
Bito-onon said Chinese government vessels have not been stationed at the atoll, which the Philippines calls Quirino, in the years he has been passing by the uninhabited, ring-shaped reef. Mayor Eugenio Bito-onon Jr., who heads a Philippine-claimed region in the Spratly Islands, said he also saw the Chinese ships at the atoll for two straight days last week while flying in a plane over the uninhabited, ring-shaped reef, which the Philippines calls Quirino.
Jackson Atoll lies several kilometers (miles) from the Philippine-claimed Mischief Reef, which China occupied in 1995 and has developed into an island with what appears to be a runway. It lies midway between Palawan province and Filipino-occupied Thitu Island in the Spratlys. Jackson Atoll lies several kilometers (miles) from the Philippine-claimed Mischief Reef, which China occupied in 1995 and has developed into an island.
A Philippine security official said an air force surveillance plane did not see Chinese vessels on a flight Wednesday. A Philippine security official said an air force surveillance plane did not see Chinese vessels on a flight Wednesday. Still, the mere sighting of the Chinese vessels has set off concerns.
“I’m alarmed because we frequently pass by that atoll on our way to Pag-asa,” Bito-onon told The Associated Press by telephone, using the Philippine name for Thitu Island, where he frequently travels to visit a Filipino fishing community guarded by troops. “I’m alarmed because we frequently pass by that atoll on our way to Pag-asa,” Bito-onon told The Associated Press by telephone, using the Filipino name for Thitu Island in the Spratlys where a small Filipino fishing community and troops stay.
Filipino, Vietnamese and Malaysian fishing boats have gone to Jackson’s vast fishing lagoon for years, Bito-onon said.Filipino, Vietnamese and Malaysian fishing boats have gone to Jackson’s vast fishing lagoon for years, Bito-onon said.
Philippine planes landing and taking off at Thitu have been warned frequently to stay away by Chinese forces based at the nearby Subi Reef, one of seven reefs in the disputed Spratlys that China has built into islands in the last two years using dredged sand. The plane that he was on last week that flew to Thitu was shooed away again by the Chinese at Subi, Bito-onon said. In another concern, Bito-onon said Philippine planes landing and taking off at Thitu have been warned frequently to stay away by Chinese forces based at the nearby Subi Reef, one of seven disputed Spratly reefs that China have built into islands. The plane that he was on last week flew to Thitu and was shooed away by the Chinese too, he said.
“When you take off or land, you’ll hear their warning: ‘You are flying within our security zone, please leave immediately to avoid miscalculation,’” Bito-onon said.“When you take off or land, you’ll hear their warning: ‘You are flying within our security zone, please leave immediately to avoid miscalculation,’” Bito-onon said.
He has said those Chinese warnings are an act of intimidation and show the threat to freedom of overflight in the region. Those Chinese warnings are an act of intimidation and show the threat to freedom of overflight in the region, he said.
Civil Aviation Authority personnel also received radio warnings on a flight to Thitu last January to conduct an engineering survey for installing civil aviation safety equipment on the island. The United States and Asian governments have expressed alarm over China’s island construction, saying it raises tensions, threatens regional stability and could violate freedom of navigation and overflight.
The United States and governments that lay claims to parts of the disputed region have expressed alarm over China’s island construction, saying it raises tensions and threatens regional stability and could violate freedom of navigation and overflight. In New Delhi, U.S. Pacific Commander Admiral Harry Harris Jr. expressed his admiration for India’s peaceful approach to conflict resolution but cited how “some countries seek to bully smaller nations,” without naming China.
Aside from China and the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei have conflicting territorial claims in the Spratlys. “Freedom of navigation on the high seas and the air space above them ... are not privileges of rich and powerful countries,” Harris told a conference on Asian geopolitics. “They are fundamental rights of all nations.”
Aside from China and the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei also lay claim to the Spratlys’ strategic waters.
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Associated Press writers Christopher Bodeen in Beijing and Rishabh R. Jain in New Delhi contributed to this report.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.