The Philippines would “stand our ground” in a dispute with Beijing over the South China Sea, a top Philippine security official said yesterday, eight years after an international ruling against China in the territorial contest.
Tensions over the strategic waterway, a key passage for sea-borne trade, have soared in the past 18 months following a series of escalating confrontations between Philippine and Chinese ships.
The most serious happened on June 17, when China Coast Guard personnel wielding knives, sticks and an axe surrounded and boarded three Philippine Navy boats during a resupply mission to the Second Thomas Shoal (Renai Shoal, 仁愛暗沙) in the Spratly Islands.
Photo: AFP / Philippine Coast Guard (PCG)
While the countries agreed last week to “de-escalate tensions” over the disputed reefs and waters, Philippine National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano said yesterday that Manila would not back down.
“We will continue to stand our ground and push back against coercion, interference, malign influence and other tactics that seek to jeopardize our security and stability,” Ano said.
Ano was speaking at an event celebrating the anniversary of the ruling by The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration.
The Philippines filed a case against China in 2013. Three years later, the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled in Manila’s favor, declaring China’s expansive claims had no legal basis.
When Shanghai-based designer Guo Qingshan posted a vacation photo on Valentine’s Day and captioned it “Puppy Mountain,” it became a sensation in China and even created a tourist destination. Guo had gone on a hike while visiting his hometown of Yichang in central China’s Hubei Province late last month. When reviewing the photographs, he saw something he had not noticed before: A mountain shaped like a dog’s head rested on the ground next to the Yangtze River, its snout perched at the water’s edge. “It was so magical and cute. I was so excited and happy when I discovered it,” Guo said.
Chinese authorities said they began live-fire exercises in the Gulf of Tonkin on Monday, only days after Vietnam announced a new line marking what it considers its territory in the body of water between the nations. The Chinese Maritime Safety Administration said the exercises would be focused on the Beibu Gulf area, closer to the Chinese side of the Gulf of Tonkin, and would run until tomorrow evening. It gave no further details, but the drills follow an announcement last week by Vietnam establishing a baseline used to calculate the width of its territorial waters in the Gulf of Tonkin. State-run Vietnam News
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