Chinese ships in disputed waters, Philippines express "great concern"

Manila: The Philippines' defence chief Jose Faustino on Wednesday said that the presence of Chinese ships in the disputed waters in the South China Sea is "unacceptable". A dozen vessels were seen in the area.

Their presence has been reported since early this year.

He added the action violates the country's sovereignty. "The president's order to the department of National Defense is clear - we will not give up a single square inch of Philippine territory" The officer-in-charge further expressed "great concern" over the "reported swarming of Chinese vessels in Iroquois Reef and Sabina Shoal in the West Philippine Sea," reported Reuters.

The disputed part of the South China Sea is referred to as the West Philippine Sea by Manila.

Faustino further said the Philippines remain "open to dialogue" but "activities which violate the country's sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction, and undermine the peace and stability of the region, are unacceptable."

China has been fighting with regional powers and colonial states since 1279 over a territorial map that suggests the entire South China Sea belongs to Beijing. It is now fighting with Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam over the waterbody through which around $3 trillion worth of ship-borne trade is passing every year. The sea also has an estimated 11 billion barrels of untapped oil and 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

In 2016, Manila won a landmark arbitration case that invalidated China's claims on the South China Sea. The verdict says the Philippines has the sovereign rights to the energy reserves inside its 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone, where both Iroquois Reef and Sabina Shoal are located. Beijing refused to recognise the ruling.