Thread: Philippines says 220 Chinese boats have encroached in South China Sea

MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines urged China on Sunday to recall more than 200 Chinese boats it said had been spotted at a reef in the South China Sea, saying the presence of the vessels violated its maritime rights as it claims ownership of the area.

Authorities said the Philippines coast guard had reported that about 220 vessels, believed to be manned by Chinese maritime militia personnel, were seen moored at the Whitsun Reef, which Manila calls the Julian Felipe Reef, on March 7.


“We call on the Chinese to stop this incursion and immediately recall these boats violating our maritime rights and encroaching into our sovereign territory,” Defence Minister Delfin Lorenzana said.


The Philippine military had conducted air and maritime patrols in the South China Sea to further validate the report, spokesman Marine Major General Edgard Arevalo said, but did not say when.


The military had submitted its findings to other government agencies, and they would be used as basis for taking “appropriate actions not limited to filing diplomatic protests”, he said in a statement, without elaborating.


“The (Armed Forces of the Philippines) will not renege from our commitment to protect and defend our maritime interest within the bounds of the law,” Arevalo said.


Chinese boats have fished near the reef for a long time, and recently, some have been sheltering in the area due to sea conditions, said China’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying on Monday.


“I think this is very normal, and hope all sides can view this rationally,” she said at a daily news conference.


Foreign minister Teodoro Locsin, asked whether he would file a diplomatic protest over the boats, told a journalist on Twitter: “Only if the generals tell me. In my watch, foreign policy is the fist in the iron glove of the armed forces.”

The vessels are fishing boats believed to be manned by Chinese military-trained personnel, according to Philippines security officials.


The vessels’ presence in the area raises concern about overfishing and the destruction of the marine environment, as well as risks to safe navigation, a Philippine cross-government task force said late on Saturday.


An international tribunal invalidated China’s claim to 90% of the South China Sea in 2016, but Beijing does not recognise the ruling. China has built islands in the disputed waters in recent years, putting air strips on some of them.


Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Brunei all claim parts of the sea.


In January, the Philippines protested at a new Chinese law allowing its coast guard to fire on foreign vessels, describing it as a “threat of war”.


The United States has repeatedly denounced what it called China’s attempts to bully neighbours with competing interests, while Beijing has criticised Washington for what it calls interference in its internal affairs.


The Whitsun Reef is within Manila’s exclusive economic zone, the task force said, describing the site as “a large boomerang-shaped shallow coral reef at the northeast of Pagkakaisa Banks and Reefs”.


The task force vowed to continue “to peacefully and proactively pursue its initiatives on environmental protection, food security and freedom of navigation” in the South China Sea.


Philippines says 220 Chinese boats have encroached in South China Sea | Reuters

They're all lined up for a good strafe. Come on Joe!

Originally Posted by misskit

The Philippines urged China on Sunday to recall more than 200 Chinese boats it said had been spotted at a reef in the South China Sea,

How can any marine life sustain an onslaught like that - no wonder the bastards are going further an further. Vile country

Originally Posted by misskit

MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines urged China on Sunday to recall more than 200 Chinese boats it said had been spotted at a reef in the South China Sea, saying the presence of the vessels violated its maritime rights as it claims ownership of the area.

Authorities said the Philippines coast guard had reported that about 220 vessels, believed to be manned by Chinese maritime militia personnel, were seen moored at the Whitsun Reef, which Manila calls the Julian Felipe Reef, on March 7.

Important enough to start another thread? What's the lowdown Mk?

Originally Posted by misskit

Philippines says 220 Chinese militia vessels seen in disputed waters this month

MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines expressed concern about hundreds of Chinese military vessels it said were spotted this month in the disputed South China Sea, the latest example of tension in the crucial waterway.

Some suggest that "freedom of passage", for commercial and military "vessels", applies to all nations. Some "rule" ameristan selectively imposes.

Some suggest that "freedom of passage", for commercial and military "vessels", applies to all nations.

Why are you repeating yourself? I've already pointed out that if you believed this nonsense you would question why the snivelling fucking chinkies always make a big deal of it.

Manila Protests Presence of Hundreds of Chinese Ships in Contested Waters


The Philippines has lodged a diplomatic protest with Beijing after spotting what it says are 220 ships manned by Chinese militia in its maritime territory, but a spokeswoman for China’s foreign ministry said the boats were fishing vessels sheltering from rough sea conditions.


The Philippine government on Sunday accused Beijing of military provocation through the presence of Chinese boats at Whitsun Reef, which Manila calls Julian Felipe and is in the Spratly Islands, a chain in the South China Sea contested by China, the Philippines, and other countries.


Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said he had “fired off” a diplomatic protest to Beijing, while Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana described the new development as a “clear provocative action of militarizing the area.”


“We call on the Chinese to stop this incursion and immediately recall these boats violating our maritime rights and encroaching into our sovereign territory. We are committed to uphold our sovereign rights over the WPS,” Lorenzana said on Sunday.


On Monday, Philippine presidential spokesman Harry Roque confirmed that Manila had filed a diplomatic protest with Beijing over the boats in accordance with international law and “on behalf of the president.”


Meanwhile, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected the Philippine claims.


The ships at the reef in the Spratlys are fishing vessels, foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said, in response to a reporter’s question during a daily press briefing in Beijing.


“Niu’e Jiao is part of the Nansha Islands,” Hua said, referring to Whitsun Reef and the Spratly Islands by their Chinese names, as Beijing claims the territory in addition to almost all of the South China Sea.


“Chinese fishing boats have been fishing in the waters near the reef all along. Recently, due to [the] maritime situation, some fishing boats have been taking shelter from the wind near Niu’e Jiao, which is quite normal. We hope relevant sides can view this in an objective light.”


In a statement on Monday, the Chinese embassy in Manila also denied that the ships gathered at the reef were manned by maritime militia. They were fishing vessels sheltering from rough sea conditions, the embassy said.


“There is no Chinese Maritime Militia as alleged. Any speculation … helps nothing but causes unnecessary irritation. It is hoped that the situation could be handled in an objective and rational manner,” the statement said.


‘No actual fishing activities’


According to Philippine National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr., the 220 Chinese ships were seen moored at the “large boomerang shaped shallow coral reef” on March 7 – and they were not fishing.


“Despite clear weather at the time, the Chinese vessels massed at the reef showed no actual fishing activities and had their full white lights turned on during night time,” Esperon said on Saturday.


Photographs of the 220 ships indicated they were maritime militia vessels, which were not involved in fishing activities, said Andrew Erickson, a professor of strategy at the U.S. Naval War College’s China Maritime Studies Institute.


“The photos from the Philippine Coast Guard and statement from Defense Secretary Lorenzana match verified information on China’s People’s Armed Forces Maritime Militia (PAFMM),” he told BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service.


“The ships photographed look and act very much like the 84 large steel-hulled vessels purpose-built at multiple shipyards by 2016 for the leading Sansha City Maritime Militia, as documented by both the U.S. Department of Defense and Office of Naval Intelligence.”


Automatic identification system-data for the past few years had shown Sansha ships engaged in rotational forward deployments to China-claimed features and outposts throughout the South China Sea, he said.


“Crewed by well-salaried full-time personnel recruited in part from former PLA ranks, they appear not to bother fishing – the better to focus on trolling for territory,” Erickson said, referring to China’s People’s Liberation Army.


“Such vessels reportedly have weapons lockers, and official PRC [People’s Republic of China] photos depict exercises in which they are loaded with ‘light arms.’”


The presence of these vessels conforms to Beijing’s established South China Sea modus operandi, Erickson added.


“Two implications arise immediately: First, if not properly countered at Whitsun Reef, or elsewhere, PAFMM vessels could support further territorial seizure akin to what China achieved at Scarborough Shoal in 2012,” he said.


In 2012, the Chinese seized Scarborough Shoal, a traditional fishing ground within the 200-nautical-mile Exclusive Economic Zone of the Philippines, after a two-month standoff with the Philippine Navy.


“Second, if these [approximately] 220 vessels indeed belong to leading professionalized, militarized PAFMM units, they alone should significantly increase the U.S. government’s sole public estimate of total PAFMM ship numbers – which may be excessively conservative at [approximately] 84 vessels total, a number projected to remain fixed through 2030.”


Chinese vessels have been maintaining a consistent presence at the Whitsun Reef either with fishing boats or militia vessels, Gregory Poling, director of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said last month.


“We’ve caught sight of vessels congregating around Whitson multiple times over the last year or two,” Poling told BenarNews.


Poling expressed skepticism that the 220 Chinese vessels were fishing boats as claimed by the Chinese embassy in Manila.


“Chinese diplomats in [the] region continue to deny the existence of a maritime militia even though Chinese state media has broadcast their exploits for years,” Poling tweeted on Monday.


China claims nearly all of the South China Sea as its own despite an international arbitration court in 2016 ruling in favor of the Philippines in a case brought against Beijing over the contested waterway.


Six other Asian governments – Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam – have territorial claims or maritime boundaries in the South China Sea that overlap with the sweeping claims of China.


While Indonesia does not regard itself as party to the South China Sea dispute, Beijing claims historic rights to parts of that sea overlapping Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone.



Manila Protests Presence of Hundreds of Chinese Ships in Contested Waters — Radio Free Asia

Originally Posted by OhOh

Important enough to start another thread? What's the lowdown Mk?

Why do you dislike the news, OhNo? Are you blaming the messenger again?

Pres Du30 will meet with the Chinese ambassador to discuss the matter.

Link:
Duterte will talk to Beijing envoy about West Philippine Sea incursion – Palace | Global News

*********

IMHO, I don't know if anything good will come out of it. China will attempt to placate Du30 & offer more loans & vaccines, then the matter will be forgotten. The PH military doesn't like it & have raised their voices, but if their own president doesn't support them, then....

Originally Posted by katie23

offer more loans & vaccines, then the matter will be forgotten

Surely loans, if they will assist with improving your citizens lives are beneficial. Similarly, a supply of vaccines.

I am presuming your countries politicians and citizens are able to monitor both how the loans and vaccines are utilised.

Originally Posted by katie23

Pres Du30 will meet with the Chinese ambassador to discuss the matter.

Link:
Duterte will talk to Beijing envoy about West Philippine Sea incursion – Palace | Global News

*********

China will attempt to placate Du30 & offer more loans & vaccines, then the matter will be forgotten. The PH military doesn't like it & have raised their voices, but if their own president doesn't support them, then....

Du30 is playing both sides. Extracting concessions from both of the superpowers. Instead of playing for one side only like Australia has. It would not be good for the Philippines to wall off China completely.

Originally Posted by katie23

China will attempt to placate Du30 & offer more bribes

FTFY.

Originally Posted by panama hat

Why do you dislike the news, OhNo? Are you blaming the messenger again?

Old habits die hard.

Philippines, Vietnam press China over vessels massing in South China Sea


MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte expressed concern to China’s ambassador about Chinese vessels massing in the South China Sea, his spokesman said, as Vietnam urged Beijing to respect its maritime sovereignty.


International concern has grown in recent days over what the Philippines has described as a “swarming and threatening presence” of more than 200 Chinese vessels that it believes were manned by maritime militia.


The boats were moored at the Whitsun Reef within Manila’s 200-mile exclusive economic zone.


“The president said we are really concerned. Any country will be concerned with that number of ships,” Duterte’s spokesman, Harry Roque, told a regular news conference.


Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, China and Vietnam have competing territorial claims in the South China Sea, through which at least $3.4 trillion of annual trade passes.

Roque said Duterte reaffirmed to China’s ambassador, Huang Xilian, that the Philippines had won a landmark arbitration case in 2016, which made clear its sovereign entitlements amid rival claims by China.


China’s maritime assertiveness has put Duterte in an awkward spot throughout his presidency due to his controversial embrace of Beijing and reluctance to speak out against it.


He has instead accused close ally the United States of creating conflict in the South China Sea.


China’s embassy in Manila did not respond to a request for comment on Duterte’s meeting.

On Wednesday it said the vessels at Whitsun Reef were fishing boats taking refuge from rough seas. A Philippine military spokesman said China’s defence attache had denied there were militia aboard.


Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang on Thursday said the Chinese vessels at the reef, which Hanoi calls Da Ba Dau, had infringed on its sovereignty.


“Vietnam requests that China stop this violation and respect Vietnam’s sovereignty,” Hang told a regular briefing.


A Vietnamese coastguard vessel could be seen moored near the disputed area on Thursday, according to ship tracking data published by the Marine Traffic website.


Hang said Vietnam’s coastguard was “exercising its duties as regulated by laws”, including international law.

Philippines, Vietnam press China over vessels massing in South China Sea | Reuters

Philippines Military Orders Ships Deployed to South China Sea



Chinese ships are seen around Whitsun Reef in the South China Sea, in this image provided by Maxar Technologies, March 23, 2021.

The Philippine military said Thursday it had ordered navy ships deployed to the South China Sea, days after the coast guard reported that hundreds of Chinese boats, believed to be crewed by militia, were seen swarming near a contested reef.


Armed Forces of the Philippines chief Gen. Cirilito Sobejana gave the order to beef up “maritime sovereignty patrols” in an area within the country’s exclusive economic zone, AFP spokesman Maj. Gen. Edgard Arevalo said in a statement.


“By the increased naval presence in the area, we seek to reassure our people of the AFP’s strong and unwavering commitment to protect and defend them from harassment, and [to] ensure that they can enjoy their rights over the country’s rich fishing ground which is the source of their livelihood,” Arevalo said.


Philippine officials over the weekend reported that around 220 steel-hulled boats had been seen moored near Whitsun Reef, which Manila calls Julian Felipe, 175 nautical miles off Palawan Island.


On Wednesday, representatives of the Philippine military met with their Chinese counterparts to convey Manila’s demand that the ships leave Whitsun Reef in the Spratly Islands, Arevalo said.


The Chinese military representatives “reiterated their government’s assurance” that the boats were not militia but fishing boats taking shelter near the reef because of inclement weather, he said.


China’s foreign ministry issued the assurance earlier this week after Manila lodged a diplomatic protest over the sighting of the 220 Chinese ships.


On Thursday, Philippine presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the government believed that the Philippines and China could resolve the issue.


“China said that their fishermen were in the area seeking refuge from bad weather,” Roque told a virtual press briefing. “We hope the weather clears up and in the spirit of friendship we are hoping that their vessels will leave the area.”


The state weather bureau has reported no disturbances in the area.


President Rodrigo Duterte, Roque said, had raised concerns about the encroachment of the Chinese ships during a social call with Huang Xilian, China’s ambassador to Manila, ahead of the president’s birthday on Sunday. He added that Duterte also broached an international court ruling in 2016 that invalidated China’s expansive claims to the waterway.


“The president repeated what he told the United Nations, that we stand by and protect our territory, that we believe this has to be resolved through the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea [UNCLOS] and we stand by our victory at the Arbitral Tribunal,” Roque told reporters.


Meanwhile, a group of Filipino fishermen appealed to the government on Thursday to ensure their safety when out on the contested waters, especially since Beijing has enforced a law that allows its coast guard to fire at boats perceived to be intruding in Chinese territory.


“The presence of about 200 Chinese vessels in our marine territory came at the heels of the passing of the controversial Coast Guard Law. We can’t help but be alarmed of what could possibly happen to Filipino fisherfolk conducting livelihood in our own traditional fishing grounds with these big foreign vessels around,” said Fernando Hicap, chairman of the fishers’ organization Pamalakaya.


“If our authorities could not dispel the Chinese vessels, the least they could do is to escort our fisher folks in Julian Felipe Reef, and ensure that no bad thing would happen to them during fishing operations,” Hicap said.


International support


Earlier this week, the U.S. State Department backed Manila’s position regarding the large number of Chinese vessels clustered in disputed waters in the South China Sea.


“The U.S. stands with our ally, the Philippines, regarding concerns about the gathering of PRC maritime militia vessels near Whitsun Reef. We call on Beijing to stop using its maritime militia to intimidate and provoke others, which undermines peace and security,” said Ned Price, the department’s spokesman, referring to the People’s Republic of China.


The Philippines, China, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam have competing claims over parts of the South China Sea. While Indonesia does not regard itself as party to the South China Sea dispute, Beijing claims historic rights to parts of that sea overlapping Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone.


Meanwhile on Thursday, the foreign ministry in Hanoi expressed its own concerns about Chinese ships in the Spratlys.


“[A]ctivities by Chinese vessels within the territorial waters of Sin Cowe Island in the Spratlys were a violation of Vietnam’s sovereignty and of the 1982 UNCLOS on foreign vessels' activities within a coastal country’s territorial waters,” ministry spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang told a regular press briefing.


“Vietnam has full legal basis and historical evidence to assert its sovereignty over the Spratlys in accordance with international laws,” she added, according to the Vietnamese Service of Radio Free Asia (RFA), a sister entity of BenarNews.


Other countries joined the diplomatic fray as well.


Canadian Ambassador to the Philippines Peter MacArthur, British Minister of State for Asia Nigel Adams, Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Koshikawa Kazuhiko, and Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Steven J. Robinson all voiced concerns on Twitter about the unfolding situation in the South China Sea.


“Canada opposes recent Chinese actions in the South China Sea, including off the coast of the Philippines, that escalate tensions and undermine regional stability and the rules-based international order,” MacArthur said on Twitter.


Chinese ships


The Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies had reported that hundreds of Chinese militia ships maintained a constant presence near the Philippine-controlled Thitu Island in the Spratly chain, from late 2018 to early 2020.


Reports of Chinese ships harassing or intimidating Philippine fishing crews have increased in recent years. In June 2019, a Chinese ship suspected of being manned by militia collided with a Philippine fishing boat moored on Reed Bank near Palawan Island, causing the boat to capsize and leaving the Filipino crew marooned.

Philippines Military Orders Ships Deployed to South China Sea — BenarNews

Originally Posted by misskit

The Chinese military representatives “reiterated their government’s assurance” that the boats were not militia but fishing boats taking shelter near the reef because of inclement weather, he said.

Originally Posted by misskit

“China said that their fishermen were in the area seeking refuge from bad weather,” Roque told a virtual press briefing. “We hope the weather clears up

Originally Posted by misskit

The state weather bureau has reported no disturbances in the area.

Someone's telling porkies . . . and it isn't the weather bureau

Originally Posted by panama hat

Someone's telling porkies . . . and it isn't the weather bureau

S.O.P. for the chinkies innit.

Philippines sends fighter aircraft over Chinese vessels in South China Sea


MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippine military is sending light fighter aircraft to fly over hundreds of Chinese vessels in disputed waters in the South China Sea, its defence minister said, as he repeated his demand the flotilla be withdrawn immediately.


International concern is growing over what the Philippines has described as a “swarming and threatening presence” of more than 200 Chinese vessels that Manila believes were manned by maritime militia.


The boats were moored at the Whitsun Reef within Manila’s 200-mile exclusive economic zone..


The Philippine military aircraft were sent daily to monitor the situation, Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said in a statement late on Saturday.


Lorenzana said the military will also beef up its naval presence in the South China Sea to conduct “sovereignty patrols” and protect Filipino fishermen.


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


The Chinese Embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It has said the vessels at Whitsun Reef were fishing boats taking refuge from rough seas and that there were no militia aboard.


Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte reaffirmed to China’s ambassador, Huang Xilian, the Philippines had won a landmark arbitration case in 2016, which made clear its sovereign entitlements amid rival claims by China, his spokesman said last week.


Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, China and Vietnam have competing territorial claims in the South China Sea, through which at least $3.4 trillion of annual trade passes.

Philippines sends fighter aircraft over Chinese vessels in South China Sea | Reuters

Originally Posted by katie23

China will attempt to bribe Du30 & offer more overpriced loans & shit vaccines

FTFY.

Originally Posted by OhOh

Surely loans, if they will assist with improving your citizens lives are beneficial.

Yes I'm sure the Phils is in desperate need of a six lane motorway to an airport in the middle of nowhere.

Originally Posted by misskit

The Philippine military is sending light fighter aircraft to fly over hundreds of Chinese vessels in disputed waters in the South China Sea, its defence minister said, as he repeated his demand the flotilla be withdrawn immediately.

Phew, Manila is getting tough . . . is the weather not an issue anymore? So China can withdraw its ships? easy.

The Phils needs to follow the French example, and use some undercover agents to plant a few bombs on the hulls of these vessels and sink a few.

Philippines Amplifies Demand for Chinese ‘Maritime Militia’ Ships to Leave EEZ Waters



Updated at 5:48 a.m. ET on 2021-04-01


China has not withdrawn all of its vessels moored at a reef within Manila’s exclusive economic zone, the Philippines said Wednesday, as it amplified its demand that Beijing pull out “Maritime Militia” ships from disputed South China Sea waters.


As of Monday, 44 Chinese Maritime Militia ships “remain moored, anchored and stationary at Julian Felipe Reef,” the government’s National Task Force on the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) said in a statement, referring to Whitsun Reef by its Philippine name. The West Philippine Sea is also the name that Manila uses for the South China Sea.


The reef is about 175 nautical miles off the Philippine island province of Palawan and within the country’s 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ).


“The Philippines calls on China to immediately withdraw these vessels flying its flag,” the NTF-WPS said, adding that it has “sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction” over a swath of islands and reefs in the Spratly Group, which Manila calls Kalayaan, and the waters surrounding them.


The task force also “expresses deep concern over the continuing unlawful presence (swarming) of the Chinese Maritime Militia (CMM), which did not pull out and have remained in Julian Felipe (Whitsun) Reef and are now in other areas of the Kalayaan Island Group in the Municipality of Kalayaan, Palawan,” according to the statement.


While only 44 ships were lingering at Whitsun, others had “dispersed” to other areas of the Spratlys – 115 at Kennan Reef, 45 around Thitu Island and another 50 among Mischief, Fiery Cross and Subi reefs – the task force said.


The task force said military patrols also located four Chinese naval ships at Mischief Reef, one of several submerged natural features, which China has reclaimed and transformed into military installations.

The Philippine military began keeping a closer watch following a report earlier this month that about 220 “Chinese militia vessels” moored at Whitsun Reef. It deployed naval and aerial assets last week to monitor the region.


A week ago, Philippine military representatives met with their Chinese counterparts to convey a government demand that the ships leave Whitsun Reef. Chinese military officials responded that the ships were fishing boats taking shelter because of inclement weather.


On March 22, the Chinese embassy in Manila rejected Philippine allegations that hundreds of Beijing’s militia ships were clustering in Philippine-claimed waters, after Manila lodged a diplomatic protest with China over the matter earlier this month.


“Recently, some Chinese fishing vessels take shelter near Niu’e Jiao due to rough sea conditions,” the embassy said in a statement then, referring to Whitsun Reef by its Chinese name.


“It has been a normal practice for Chinese fishing vessels to take shelter under such circumstances. There is no Chinese Maritime Militia as alleged.”


In its Wednesday statement, the task force said the Philippines “stands by its observation that these so-called fishing vessels are maritime militia,” and their presence “poses a threat to the peaceful exercise of the sovereign rights of the Philippines in its EEZ.”


It mentioned a July 2016 U.N.-backed tribunal’s ruling that affirmed the Philippines’ sovereign rights in the South China Sea.


China has rejected the ruling and escalated its military build-up in the waterway, deploying ships and aircraft to the region.


Six other Asian governments – Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam – have territorial claims or maritime boundaries in the South China Sea. While Indonesia does not regard itself as party to the South China Sea dispute, Beijing claims historic rights to parts of that sea overlapping Indonesia’s EEZ.


“Neither the Philippines nor the international community will ever accept China’s assertion of its so-called ‘indisputable integrated sovereignty’ over almost all of the South China Sea, part of which is the West Philippine Sea,” the task force said.


ASEAN ministers to go to Beijing


Even as Manila has called for Beijing to move its ships, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi announced he had invited Philippine Foreign Minister Teodoro Locsin, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, Malaysian Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein and Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan to visit Wednesday through Friday.


“Through this visit, China hopes to step up communication with [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] countries on regional and international situation, implement important consensus of the leadership, strengthen strategic mutual trust, deepen anti-epidemic and development cooperation, boost quality [One Belt, One Road] cooperation, scale new heights in bilateral relations and China-ASEAN relationship, and better safeguard regional peace, stability and development,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Tuesday.


The Chinese announcement came two days after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated Washington’s position supporting Manila, a longtime ally.


“We will always stand by our allies and stand up for the rules-based international order,” Blinken said in a tweet.


Late Wednesday, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan backed up this promise in a phone call with his Philippine counterpart, Hermogenes Esperon.


“The National Security Advisors discussed their shared concerns regarding the recent massing of People’s Armed Forces Maritime Militia vessels at Whitsun Reef,” the White House said in a statement.


It said the United States “reaffirmed the applicability of the U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty in the South China Sea” and that the two officials agreed their governments “would continue to coordinate closely in responding to challenges in the South China Sea.”


Officials from Canada, the U.K., Japan and Australia have issued similar statements supporting the Philippines’ position regarding Whitsun Reef.


Philippines Amplifies Demand for Chinese ‘Maritime Militia’ Ships to Leave EEZ Waters — BenarNews

“Through this visit, China hopes to step up communication with [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] countries on regional and international situation, implement important consensus of the leadership, strengthen strategic mutual trust, deepen anti-epidemic and development cooperation, boost quality [One Belt, One Road] cooperation, scale new heights in bilateral relations and China-ASEAN relationship, and better safeguard regional peace, stability and development,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Tuesday.

Translation: "We're going to give him a cake tin to share with Duterte".

Originally Posted by misskit

“We will always stand by our allies and stand up for the rules-based international order,” Blinken said in a tweet.

Which "Rules" might they be?