Jun 1 04:27 AM
Manila has summoned a Chinese diplomat over an alleged fresh intrusion by Chinese ships into Philippine waters and construction activities on the disputed Spratly Islands, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday.
"These ships reportedly unloaded building materials, erected an undetermined number of (steel) posts, and placed a buoy near the breaker of the (Spratly's) Iroquois Bank," Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said.
"Any new construction by China in the vicinity of the uninhabited Iroquois Bank is a clear violation (of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea)," which China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations signed in 2002, del Rosario said.
The sightings on May 21 and May 24 of a flat bed ship and two Chinese naval missile boats are the latest Chinese "intrusions and violations" into the Philippines this year, according to Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin.
In lodging the protest, Manila wants an explanation from the Chinese Embassy in Manila on the latest sightings.
On Friday last week, the department conveyed its concern to the Chinese Embassy over reports in Chinese state media about China's planned installation of an advanced oil rig in the South China Sea in July.
The Spratlys are claimed in whole by China, Vietnam and Taiwan, and in part by Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines.