ASIATODAY.ID, JAKARTA – The maritime conflict between the Philippines and China is getting sharper. The Philippines warned it would deploy warships to the South China Sea, following accusations that Chinese navy ships had harassed Philippine vessels in the disputed waters.
Spokesperson for the Philippine Coast Guard’s West Philippine Sea Command (PCG), Jay Tarriela, in a release Sunday, December 8 2024, said that the deployment of naval vessels to the country’s territorial waters is a policy option being considered by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
He said that the final decision rests with the president and the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
The West Philippine Sea (WPS) as officially defined by the Philippine government, is within the country’s exclusive economic zone.
In recent months, confrontation between Beijing and Manila has escalated in the South China Sea, a 3.5 million square kilometer area through which about US$11.3 billion in global trade passes annually, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Tarriela revealed that although the Philippine Navy monitors the situation in the WPS, it does not intervene when Chinese Coast Guard vessels or maritime militia “harass Filipino fishermen, the PCG, and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.”
The dispute underscores rising regional tensions over strategic waterways, with China claiming almost the entire South China Sea area that overlaps with the territorial waters of several countries, including the Philippines, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnamese.
Manila has consistently accused Beijing of aggressive actions, including the use of its coast guard and maritime militia to intimidate Filipino vessels and fishermen. (AT Network)
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