MANILA — The Philippines has deployed a fresh batch of marines and supplies to a shoal in the disputed South China Sea, where a Chinese warship and surveillance vessels appeared last month and triggered a new standoff in the strategic waters, Philippine Defence Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said yesterday.
The new contingent of Filipino marines replaced troops at the Second Thomas Shoal, where the arrival last month of Chinese ships sparked diplomatic protests from the Philippines.
They have been stationed in a decrepit military hospital ship that ran aground in 1999 on the shallow coral outcrop and has since become an awkward symbol of Philippine sovereignty.
Mr Gazmin said yesterday the shoal lies within the Philippines’ internationally recognised 370km exclusive economic zone.
He added that he has discussed the fresh deployment with Chinese Ambassador Ma Keqing to prevent a possible confrontation between Chinese and Filipino forces, but stressed that the Philippines was free to undertake any activity in the shoal without notifying China.
“It’s ours,” he said by telephone.
Ms Ma has raised concerns that the Philippines was planning to erect concrete structures at the shoal to reinforce its territorial claim, but Mr Gazmin said he has assured her that there was no such plan.
The Philippine Defence Secretary also said he has discussed the tense situation at the shoal with visiting United States security officials, including Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, at a meeting on Tuesday.
“They’re really concerned and want to be sure that this will be resolved without the use of force,” he said.
The Second Thomas Shoal lies near the Spratlys, a chain of resource-rich islands, islets and reefs contested by China, as well as Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. AP
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