{"id":34120,"date":"2017-08-22T17:30:12","date_gmt":"2017-08-22T17:30:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2017\/08\/22\/filipino-officials-chinese-navy-stalked-philippine-area\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T03:04:25","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T03:04:25","slug":"filipino-officials-chinese-navy-stalked-philippine-area","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/flashpoints\/2017\/08\/22\/filipino-officials-chinese-navy-stalked-philippine-area\/","title":{"rendered":"Filipino officials: Chinese navy stalked Philippine area"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

MANILA, Philippines \u2014 China recently deployed navy and coast guard ships in a cluster of uninhabited sandbars in the disputed South China Sea amid concerns that the Philippines may build structures on them, two Filipino security officials said Tuesday. The government, however, said the issue was quickly resolved amid the Asian neighbors\u2019 friendlier ties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two senior Philippine security officials told The Associated Press that three Chinese navy ships, a coast guard vessel and 10 fishing boats began keeping watch on Sandy Cay on Aug. 12 after a group of Filipino fishermen were spotted on the sandbars. The Filipinos eventually left but the Chinese stayed on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two spoke on condition of anonymity, saying only the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila has been authorized to publicly discuss issues related to the country\u2019s territorial disputes with China. The foreign affairs department, however, has refused to divulge details of the situation at Sandy Cay, a cluster of three sandbars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A senior Philippine diplomat, who also spoke on condition of anonymity because of a lack of authority to discuss the issue publicly, said China \u201cis concerned that we will build\u201d structures on the sandbars. Chinese and Philippine officials have quietly worked to resolve the issue in recent days, said the diplomat, who is involved in the talks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A government security report seen by the AP says three Chinese navy ships, a Chinese coast guard ship and 10 Chinese fishing vessels took positions off Sandy Cay. Its nearest sandbar is about 2.5 nautical miles (4.6 kilometers) from Philippine-occupied Thitu Island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Aug. 15, a blue Chinese helicopter flew low off Thitu\u2019s southwest coast, the report said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Philippine troops and villagers based at Thitu call it Pag-asa \u2014Tagalog for hope \u2014 while the Chinese call the island Zhongye Dao.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Chinese military presence near Thitu sparked concerns in Manila.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Philippine Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, who has studied the disputes extensively, said the Chinese navy ships and other vessels encroached in the Philippine island\u2019s 12-nautical mile (22-kilometer) territorial waters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn short, Sandy Cay is a Philippine land territory that is being seized, to put it mildly, or being invaded, to put it frankly, by China,\u201d Carpio said in a statement over the weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said President Rodrigo Duterte and Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano have the constitutional duty to defend and protect Philippine territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe very least that they could do now is to vigorously protest this invasion of Philippine territory by China,\u201d Carpio said. \u201cIf both are courageous, they should send a Philippine navy ship to guard Sandy Cay and if the Chinese navy ships attack the Philippine navy vessel, they should invoke the Philippine-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 1951 treaty binds the allies to come to the aid of each other when attacked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cayetano, however, told reporters Tuesday that the issue has been diplomatically resolved and denied that China has invaded Sandy Cay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLet me assure you, there is no more problem in that area,\u201d Cayetano told reporters, declining to provide details. \u201cBut it is not true that there was an attempt to invade or seize it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said people with ulterior motives were seeking to \u201cstir up conflicts between China and the Philippines.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She offered no further details on China\u2019s activities in the area. \u201cWhat I want to stress is that China has been committed to resolving relevant disputes peacefully through negotiation and consultation with the sovereign states directly concerned,\u201d Hua said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Much-friendlier ties between Manila and Beijing under Duterte have allowed both governments to manage their disputes better. Since he took office in June last year, Duterte has courted Chinese trade and assistance and taken a non-confrontational approach to their territorial disputes.<\/p>\n\n\n\t