CAMP AQUINO, Tarlac City, Philippines—The leader of the military’s
Northern Luzon Command has belied China’s claim it had withdrawn most of
its vessels in the Panatag Shoal.
Nolcom chief Lieutenant General Anthony Alcantara said the Chinese
embassy was “not telling the truth” when it said that only one Chinese
Maritime Surveillance Ship remained at Panatag—called Huangyan Island by
China—for its “law enforcement missions.”
In a briefing for defense reporters here, Alcantara said at least
seven Chinese vessels remained in the vicinity of the contested shoal,
known internationally as Scarborough Shoal, including two small fishing
boats anchored on the lagoon and three other fishing vessels off the
sandbar.
Alcantara said two Chinese maritime ships, the FLEC 310, a gunboat
which the Chinese insisted was just a fishery administration vessel, and
one of three Chinese Maritime Surveillance Ships, or CMS 71, were
sighted in the Panatag waters as of 8 p.m. Monday.
Two more surveillance ships, the CMS 84 and 75, have not been spotted
since disappearing over the weekend but were believed to just be
replenishing provisions and refueling somewhere in the Chinese mainland,
he added.
The presence of the ships, according to Alcantara, belied a statement
from the Chinese embassy on Monday afternoon that only one surveillance
ship remained in the area, and that the two others had been recalled.
In a statement sent by e-mail to reporters at 6:13 p.m. on Monday,
Chinese embassy spokesperson Zhang Hua said only one Chinese Maritime
Surveillance Ship remained at Panatag.
“The withdrawal of the two ships proves once again China is not
escalating the situation as some people said, but de-escalating the
situation,” Zhang said.
But Alcantara said one of the Chinese surveillance vessels, the CMS
71, was about 12 nautical miles southeast of the Philippine Coast Guard
ship BRP Pampanga, which was standing watch over Panatag, while the FLEC
310, also called Yuzheng 310, was about eight nautical miles southeast
of the shoal.
On the other hand, on the Philippine side, only a Coast Guard ship,
the BRP Pampanga, and a Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources ship,
the MCS3006, which arrived on Monday, are in the Panatag waters to stand
guard, he said.
“Right now the situation in the area is stable. There is no untoward
incident right now. What we’re taking care of and what were watching out
for is our Philippine fishermen,” Alcantara said, deflecting questions
on whether there was still a “standoff.”
“Because of diplomatic talks in progress, we’re avoiding any untoward
incident. There’s a standstill but I think they have stopped taking
corals and the like. Those things have stopped. What’s going on is
normal fishing (by the Chinese) in the area,” for their food, he said.
“We also challenge some of them from time to time,” Alcantara said but did not elaborate.
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DJ Yap | Philippine Daily Inquirer | April 24, 2012 | Article Link
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