PHL Seeks Diplomatic Protest vs China Over Concrete Blocks in ‘Panatag’ Shoal

The Philippine government is set to file diplomatic protest against the Republic of China after the discovery last Saturday of concrete blocks built in Panatag or Scarborough Shoal in the northeastern part of the Philippines, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said on Wednesday.

Officials said the blocks can be a prelude to Chinese construction of structures, similar to what Beijing did to Mischief Reef, a rich fishing ground within Philippine territory off South China Sea that came under China’s control in 1995, GMA news online said on Wednesday.

The online news said they tried to obtain a comment from the Chinese Embassy in Manila, but did not receive a reply.

GMA news online said tensions between the two Asian neighbors are likely to flare-up again as the aerial photos of the Philippine military showed more than 70 concrete blocks at the lagoon of the shoal.

Officials claimed that the shoal, located near Zambales, falls within Philippine territory as mandated by international law. China is insisting ownership of the area even it is far from its nearest landmass of Hainan province, GMA news online said.

The Philippine government has adopted the name ‘West Philippine Sea’ for parts of the South China Sea.

The Philippines and China landed in a standoff in Scarborough last year, but ended temporarily when President Benigno Aquino III instructed the Philippine vessels, facing off with Chinese ships, to withdraw due to bad weather. China reportedly placed roped fence at the entrance of the shoal to prevent Filipino fishermen access and shelter to its vast lagoon, GMA news online said.

China reportedly claimed the waters nearly in its entirety, citing historical entitlements as the basis for its  claim, which Manila branded as “excessive and a violation of international law,” the online news said.

The online news further said the Philippines has challenged this claim before a United Nations-linked arbitral tribunal where a resolution is pending and Beijing reportedly have notified the same tribunal last month that it will not join the legal proceedings, dismissing Manila’s case as groundless and legally infirm.

Last Tuesday defense secretary Voltaire Gazmin said the photograph showing the concrete blocks in Panatag was taken from a Philippine Navy plane on Saturday together with three Chinese Coast Guard Vessels.

Source: GMA news online