Philippine Warplanes Disturb Chinese Ships In South China Sea

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte (Source: Commons Wikimedia)

JAKARTA - The Philippine military has dispatched light combat aircraft to fly over hundreds of Chinese ships in disputed waters in the South China Sea (LCS). This was done by the Philippines as a repeated warning for China to immediately withdraw its fleet.

Philippine military aircraft are dispatched daily to monitor the situation, Defense Minister Delfin Lorenzana said in a statement Saturday, March 27.

Lorenzana said the military would also increase its naval presence in the SCS to conduct "sovereign patrols" and protect Filipino fishermen.

"Our air and sea assets are ready to protect our sovereignty and sovereign rights," Lorenzana said.

International concern is growing over what the Philippines describes as a "swarming and threatening presence" of the more than 200 Chinese ships that Manila believes are manned by maritime militias.

The boats are moored at Whitsun Reef, 200 miles inside Manila's exclusive economic zone.

The Chinese Embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters. It is said that the ships on Whitsun Reef are fishing vessels that take cover from the rough seas and there are no militias on board.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte reiterated to Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian that the Philippines had won a landmark arbitration case in 2016, which clarified its sovereign rights amid rival claims by China.

Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, China, and Vietnam have overlapping territorial claims in the SCS, an important maritime route through which USD 3.4 trillion (around Rp. 49,011 trillion) annually passes.