Rejects China's Request To Remove Warships From The South China Sea, Philippine Defense Minister: Has Been There Since 1999

Philippine BRP Sierra Madre LT-57 in the South China Sea. (Source: Smartage/Defense Studies)

JAKARTA - The Philippines will not move a warship belonging to its navy that ran aground on an atoll in the South China Sea, its defense chief said on Thursday, rejecting China's request after it blocked a mission to supply crew members.

Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana rejected China's statement Wednesday regarding the Philippines' commitment to remove the BRP Sierra Madre LT-57 warship, which was purposely ran aground at Second Thomas Shoal in 1999 to strengthen Manila's claim to sovereignty in the Spratly Islands.

The BRP Sierra Madre LT-57 is a 100 meter (330 ft) long tank landing ship built for the US Navy during World War II under the name USS Harnett County (LST-821). He served for the Vietnamese Navy under the name RVNS My Tho in 1970-1976, before being used by the Philippines.

"The ship has been around since 1999. If there was a commitment, it would have been removed a long time ago," Lorenzana told reporters, citing Reuters on November 25.

Earlier, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Wednesday, "Beijing demands that the Philippine side honor its commitments and remove its illegally grounded vessel".

To note, the Second Thomas Shoal, located 105 nautical miles (195 km) from Palawan, was the temporary home of a small military contingent aboard a rusty ship that ran aground in the area.

Minister Lorenzana accused China of trespassing when its coast guard disrupted a supply mission for troops.

China claims most of the South China Sea as its own, using the "nine-dash line" on a map that an international arbitration award in 2016 said had no legal basis.

In fact, Second Thomas Shoal is within the 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone of the Philippines, as outlined in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which was signed by China.

"We have two documents proving that we have sovereign rights in our EEZ while they don't, and their claims have no basis," said Minister Lorenzana.

"China must comply with its international obligations of which it is a part."

Earlier this week, President Rodrigo Duterte said at a summit hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping he "hated" China's recent actions in the region.