Reuters
Manila/Beijing. A Chinese frigate grounded in disputed waters close to the Philippines was refloated on Sunday and headed back home, averting a possible standoff with the Philippines navy amid rising tensions in the strategically key South China Sea.
The South China Sea has become Asia’s biggest potential military flashpoint as Beijing’s sovereignty claim over the huge area has set it against Vietnam and the Philippines as the three countries race to tap possibly huge oil reserves.
In all, six parties have rival claims to the waters, which were a central issue at an acrimonious Asean regional summit last week that ended with its members failing to agree on a concluding statement for the first time in 45 years.
On Friday, the Chinese navy said one of its vessels had run aground on Half Moon Shoal, about 90 nautical miles (170 km) off the western Philippine island of Palawan, prompting Manila to send two of its vessels and reconnaissance aircraft to the area.
Beijing said its vessel had been on a routine patrol.
“At about 5 a.m. on July 15, the frigate which had run aground in waters near Half Moon Shoal successfully extricated itself with the help of a rescue team,” China’s defense ministry said in a statement.
“The bow has sustained light damage and everybody on board is safe. Its return to port is being organized. The incident caused no maritime pollution,” the statement added, without providing further details.
The Philippines defense ministry confirmed the grounded vessel and about six other Chinese ships spotted in the area had left.
Manila says Half Moon Shoal falls well within its 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone, as recognized by international law.
“The incident in Hasa-Hasa shoal makes us nervous,” Rommel Banlaoii, executive director of Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research, told Reuters, referring to Half Moon shoal in the Spratlys. “I think what happened there was an accident, but we don’t want such accident happening again because it could trigger something that all claimant states do not want to happen there.”
“Creeping” China concerns
Philippine defense and military officials say they are worried by China’s “creeping” in disputed areas in the South China Sea, a violation of an informal code of conduct adopted in Cambodia in 2002.
The two countries have faced-off on a number of occasions in the disputed waters, and earlier in the year they were involved in a month-long standoff at Scarborough Shoal, about 500 km north of Half Moon Shoal.
Last year, the Philippines scrambled aircraft and ships to the Reed Bank area after Chinese navy ships threatened to ram a Philippine survey ship.
Beijing said last month it had begun “combat-ready” patrols in waters it said were under its control in the South China Sea, after saying it “vehemently opposed” a Vietnamese law asserting sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly islands.
The stakes have risen in the area as the US military shifts its attention and resources back to Asia, emboldening its long-time ally the Philippines and former foe Vietnam to take a bolder stance against Beijing.
The United States has stressed it is neutral in the long-running maritime dispute, despite offering to help boost the Philippines’ decrepit military forces. It says freedom of navigation is its main concern about a waterway that carries $5 trillion in trade — half the world’s shipping tonnage.
At last week’s Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) meeting, Cambodia sided with China and prevented the 10-nation bloc from issuing a customary concluding statement that covers achievements and concerns — this year, that primarily involved the South China Sea.
6 comments:
The fucken South China Sea disputes are pure bilateral issue between some ASEAN countries and China and why it should be on ASEAN agenda?
When Thailand invaded Cambodia in 2008 the whole ASEAN force Cambodia to deal with Thailand as bilateral issue!
What is so special about Phillipine and Vietname wanting to turn South China disputes into something that it is not?
The Fucken Chinese should be civilized enough to know that there is an International Sea Law that say you can't claim no more than 200 Nautical Miles from your border. The reason the whole world is getting into this mess is because of these chinks who break the law and cry foul. Play by the UNCLOS 1992 and the whole world is at peace. Your so called HAN Imperialism is spreading into the SEA and here you will meet resistence from the whole world.
Regarding the ASEAN discord, you chinks paid HunXen so much monies that he sow this unprecedent disagreement in ASEAN . You want to divide and conquer, that's all chink sneaky tactics.
shut up, go tell that to the viet/youn thugs, they stole khmer island koh tral, so don't tell khmer that again, ok! what make them so special with china? get educated already, ok! asean is not about vietnam and the philipines, you know.
i know, they told cambodia to work it out bilaterally with thailand on preah vehear, etc when cambodia raised the issue; and now they whined about the south china sea with china? no whining is allowed, really! work it out bilaterally with china, ok!
That Island belong to vietname?
That Island belong to Cambodia read the khmer history ha ha.If Viet want that Island ask Khmer Krom for help.
From Khmer Kitchener.
"The bloc, however, failed to issue a joint communiqué because Cambodia, an ally of China.."
=This is pure bullshit statement! Tell me who was or what ASEAN member was an ally of Cambodia when Thailand invaded Cambodia?
The whole ASEAN forced Cambodia to deal Thailand invasion as bilateral issue! Cambodia was left out in the cold to confront Thailand and the ongoing border conflict still continues to this day because of the fucken bilateral talk! Where was ASEAN when Cambodia needed them most?
Now the table turns and some ASEAN members such Philippine and Vietname want to blame Cambodia for everything because they can't get their way! I say fuck them!
Cambodia was once a victim of Thailand naked aggression and don't force Cambodia to be a victim again by forcing Cambodia to take the blame!
From Cambodian perspective any fucken naked aggression or invasion between two countries it is just pure bilateral issue and the victim must go alone to deal with the aggressor!
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