The Philippines military on Friday reported an alarming increase in the number of Chinese fishing vessels in disputed waters in the South China Sea, which it said threatens the security of the oil and gas-rich Reed Bank.
From only a dozen in February, the number of Chinese fishing vessels “swarming” in Iroquois reef, just south of the Reed Bank, has risen to 47 as of last month, according to the military’s Western Command (WESCOM).
“China must cease its swarming of vessels to respect our sovereign rights,” Ariel Coloma, spokesperson for the Western Command, said in a statement.
There was no immediate comment from the Chinese embassy in Manila.
The Philippines won a landmark arbitration case in 2016 that invalidated China’s expansive claims in the South China Sea, where about $3 trillion worth of sea-borne goods pass every year.
The ruling, which China refuses to recognize, affirmed the sovereign rights of Philippines over its 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) to access offshore oil and gas fields, including the Reed Bank, where a natural gas exploration project operated by Philippine firm PXP Energy Corp has been stalled.
Philippine military flights had also recorded the presence of three China Coast Guard ships and two Chinese navy vessels regularly loitering at Sabina Shoal, which like Iroquois, is inside the Philippines EEZ.
The Philippines on Wednesday accused the China Coast Guard of harassment, obstruction and “dangerous maneuvers” against its vessels, after another incident near a strategic feature of the South China Sea.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told his Philippines counterpart, Gilbert Teodoro, on Thursday that the U.S. commitment to the defense of its ally was “ironclad,” including in the South China Sea.
Copyright Ships & Ports Ltd. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit given to www.shipsandports.com.ng as the source.