Hate you Chinese Intruders

DFA protests ship sightings

By ROY C. MABASA and GENALYN D. KABILING

January 8, 2012, 10:04pm

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has protested the recent sightingseople’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) ship in the vicinity of Escoda (Sabina) Shoal in the West Philippine Sea on December 11 and 12, respectively.
The Escoda Shoal is located 123.6 nautical miles from Palawan and, according to the DFA, is within “Philippine sovereignty and maritime jurisdiction.”
Citing reports from the Department of National Defense and the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the DFA has conveyed to the Chinese Embassy’s Charge d’affaires its serious concerns over recent actions of the People’s Republic of China in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).
In a statement issued Sunday, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said that “these instrusions of the Chinese are clear violations of the 2002 ASEAN-China Declaration on the Conduct of Parties (DOC) in the South China Sea as well as the provision of the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).”
Deputy Presidential Spokeswoman Abigail Valte is hopeful that the conflict will be resolved soonest. She said that the government resorted to diplomatic means to resolve the maritime problem.
“I think it (diplomatic protest) will not affect Philippine-China ties especially it will be brought to the proper forum,” Valte said over state-run Radyo ng Bayan.
“Of course, we have remedies and other measures to address this kind of incident through the diplomatic channels,” she added.
The South China Sea consists of more than 100 small groups of islands, isles, shoals, banks, atolls, cays, coral reefs and sandbars. It covers an area of approximately 180,000 square kilometers including shallow territorial waters,
There are claims that the oil and gas potential of South China Sea is huge. Aside from these natural resources, the disputed area is also known to be rich fishing grounds.
Their strategic importance cannot also be denied as the islands straddle commercially important sea lanes and serve as legal base points from which to project claims of exclusive jurisdiction over waters and resources in the South China Sea.
China, Taiwan, and Vietnam claim the entire area, while Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines claim portions of the disputed area in the South China Sea. Except for Brunei, all the claimants are currently occupying islands or reefs.

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