Dozens Of Chinese Ships Present In The Disinstalled Waters, The Minister Of Defense Of The Philippines: The President's Order Is Clear

Philippine Defense Minister Jose Faustino Jr. (Wikimedia Commons/US Secretary of Defense)

JAKARTA - The Philippine Defense Minister on Wednesday said reports of the presence of dozens of Chinese ships in disputed waters in the South China Sea were "unacceptable" actions that violate the country's sovereignty.

"The president's orders to the department are clear, we will not hand over an inch of the Philippines," Defense Minister Jose Faustino Jr. said in a statement.

He added that there was a "big concern" over the "report of a group of Chinese ships at Iroquois Reef and Sabina Shoal in the West Philippine Sea." Manila refers to the part of the South China Sea which it claims is the Sea of the Western Philippines.

Minister Faustino's remarks followed last week's report on the Philippine Daily Inquirer, in which a Philippine military commander confirmed the presence of a Chinese ship believed to be manned by militias on coral reefs and betings since the beginning of this year.

"Our path remains open to dialogue," said Faustino.

"However, we maintain that activities that violate our sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdictions, as well as undermine regional peace and stability, are unacceptable," he said.

The Philippines won an important arbitration case in 2016, canceling Beijing's expansive claim in the South China Sea, an international cross-ship trade route worth about $3 trillion annually.

The ruling, rejected by China, states the Philippines has sovereign rights to exploit energy reserves within the 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone, where Iroquois Reef and Sabina Shoal are located.

Iroquois is 127 nautical miles from the Philippine Palawan Island in disputed waters, which US Vice President Kamala Harris visited last month, to reaffirm Washington's defense commitment to Manila and his support for the 2016 arbitration ruling.

There was no immediate comment from the Chinese Embassy in Manila. Meanwhile, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will go to Beijing next month for a state visit.