Satellite photos obtained by Reuters on Thursday show a gathering of Chinese civilian vessels near the disputed Thitu Island, Manila’s main outpost in the South China Sea, but a senior Philippine navy official said they are “not a cause for concern”.
One of the images, taken on Monday by Maxar Technologies and reviewed by Reuters, shows about 60 ships, some of which are within 2 nautical miles of Thitu, a strategically important island close to Manila via the busy waterway. Monitors Chinese ships and aircraft in China.
Vice Admiral Alfonso Torres, head of the Philippines’ Western Command, said it is common for “maritime militia” ships to assemble in the area. Manila, the Pentagon and foreign diplomats say such ships work with the Chinese coast guard and navy to bolster Beijing’s presence in disputed waters.
Photo courtesy: Reuters
Rear Admiral Roy Trinidad, the Philippines Navy’s spokesman for the South China Sea, also said that maritime militia ships were regularly in the area, adding that Manila was aware of the ships, which he called an “illegal presence”, but There was no need for alarm.
“It’s not a cause for concern,” Trinidad said. “We don’t need to read and react to every action… What’s important for us is to maintain our posture.”
Online ship trackers show that many of the vessels in satellite photos are Chinese-registered fishing boats.
Photo courtesy: Reuters
The Chinese Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. China has never confirmed that it has a military force of civilian ships.
The island, which the Philippines calls Pag-asa, is Manila’s largest and strategically important in the disputed South China Sea, which China largely claims and through which billions of dollars of goods pass each year. A 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague found that Beijing’s sweeping claims have no basis under international law.
The construction comes after months of skirmishes and skirmishes between Chinese coast guard fishing vessels and Filipino vessels, particularly in Scarborough and Second Thomas Shoals.
Trinidad said Thitu is close to the Chinese naval base and runway on Subi Reef, which sometimes serves as port for large numbers of Chinese maritime militia vessels.
“When you go there (Subi), when you go out, you will pass through the territorial sea of Pag-asa,” he said.
Regional diplomats and security analysts are closely following developments, with some saying Chinese ships this week were fitted with transponders that could have allowed them to be monitored.
Singapore-based security scholar Colin Koh said the moment of domestic political tension in the Philippines could test Beijing’s reactions to Manila.
Embattled Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte on Wednesday accused President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of seeking to remove her from office after the National Police filed a formal complaint accusing her of assault and coercion.
Singapore’s S. “This needs to be kept an eye on in the coming days,” said Koh of the Rajaratnam School of International Studies.
If the militia presence continues, Koh said, China may be hoping to delay Philippine construction work on the island.
A new aircraft hangar is reportedly scheduled to be completed in the next few weeks, the latest of several steps taken to strengthen the Philippines’ presence on Thitu and improve surveillance capabilities.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
