- Chinese coast guard ships followed a group of Filipino activists and fishermen sailing toward a disputed shoal in the South China Sea.
- The Philippine Coast Guard deployed patrol ships and an aircraft to remotely monitor activists and fishermen.
- The Philippines won a court ruling in 2016 invalidating China’s claims to the South China Sea, including Scarborough Shoal.
Chinese Coast Guard Ships have tracked a group of Filipino activists and fishermen sailing wooden boats toward a disputed shoal in the South China Sea that Beijing has fiercely guarded from what it sees as intruders.
The Philippine Coast Guard deployed three patrol vessels and a light aircraft to remotely monitor the group of about 100 people who set out from the western province of Zambales to assert Manila’s sovereignty over Scarborough Shoal and surrounding waters. Dozens of journalists took part in the three-day trip.
The navy also dispatched a ship to monitor the participants.
US, PHILIPPINE MILITARY FORCES sink ship during large-scale exercises in disputed South China Sea
The four wooden boats carrying the Filipinos were still far from the shoal when at least two Chinese coast guard ships began following them after dark, said Emman Hizon, one of the organizers, adding that the participants remained in good spirits and would not turn back.
Fishing boats carrying activists and volunteers from the Atin Ito coalition pass Palauig Point in Zambales province, Philippines, on a voyage to Scarborough Shoal, May 15, 2024. Chinese coast guard vessels followed a group of Filipino activists and fishermen sailing wooden boats toward a controversial shoal in the South China Sea that Beijing has fiercely guarded from what it sees as intruders. (Philippine Coast Guard via AP)
Some chanted “Atin Ito” – the group’s name, meaning “This is ours” in Tagalog – repeatedly after spotting the Chinese coast guard vessels.
“The Atin Ito contingent will continue its journey,” Hizon said.
“Our boats are exercising evasive maneuvers while the Philippine Coast Guard continues to maintain proximity to the convoy to thwart any further attempts by the Chinese Coast Guard vessels,” Hizon said.
Philippines refuses to allow China to withdraw Philippine military outpost on disputed bench
The convoy was expected to reach the shoal area on Thursday morning, organizers said, adding that they would seek to avoid clashes but were prepared for any eventuality. The group plans to lay symbolic territorial buoys and provide food and fuel to Filipino fishermen on the high seas near the shoal.
“Our mission is peaceful, based on international law and aimed at asserting our sovereign rights,” said Rafaela David, one of the lead organizers. “We will navigate with determination, not provocation, to civilize the region and safeguard our territorial integrity.”
In December, the group organized an expedition to another disputed shoal, but cut the trip short after being followed by a Chinese ship.
China effectively seized Scarborough Shoal, a triangle-shaped atoll with a vast fishing lagoon surrounded by mostly submerged coral outcrops, by surrounding it with its coast guard ships after a tense standoff in 2012 with Philippine government ships.
Angered by China’s action, the Philippine government took territorial disputes to international arbitration in 2013 and largely won, with a court in The Hague ruling three years later that China’s broad claims were based on grounds historic sites in the busy shipping lane were invalid under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
The decision declared Scarborough Shoal a traditional fishing area for Chinese, Filipino and Vietnamese fishermen. In the past, fishermen anchored in the shoal to avoid large waves on the high seas during stormy weather.
China refused to participate in the arbitration, rejected the outcome and continues to challenge it.
Two weeks ago, Chinese coast guard and suspected militia vessels used water cannons on Philippine coast guard and fishing vessels patrolling Scarborough Reef, damaging both vessels.
The Philippines condemned the Chinese coast guard action on the shoal, which lies within the Southeast Asian country’s internationally recognized exclusive economic zone. China’s coast guard said it took a “necessary action” after the Philippine vessels “violated China’s sovereignty.”
Asked about the Atin Ito convoy on Wednesday, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said: “If the Philippine side abuses China’s goodwill and undermines China’s sovereignty and territorial jurisdiction, the China will safeguard its rights and take countermeasures in accordance with law and responsibilities. and the consequences incurred will be entirely borne by the Philippine party.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Besides the Philippines and China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan are also involved in territorial disputes.
Chinese coast guard vessels have also ventured into waters near Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia in the past, sparking tensions and protests, but Southeast Asian countries with ties Considerable economic ties with China have not been as aggressively critical of Beijing’s increasingly assertive actions.
The Philippines has released videos of its territorial clashes with China and invited journalists to witness hostilities on the high seas in a bid to gain international support, sparking a war of words with Beijing.
The increasing frequency of skirmishes between the Philippines and China has led to minor collisions, injuries to Philippine navy personnel and damaged supply boats in recent months. This has raised fears that territorial disputes could escalate into armed conflict between China and the United States, long-time allies of the Philippines.
