Five years after South China Sea ruling, China's presence around Philippines only growing

[snoop1130]

Filipino fishermen sort fish after arriving from a week-long trip to the disputed Scarborough Shoal, in Infanta, Pangasinan province, Philippines, July 6, 2021. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez

 

CATO, Philippines (Reuters) - Filipino fisherman Randy Megu has often braved the storms that spring up in the South China Sea, but these days he has a greater fear: seeing a Chinese maritime enforcement vessel on the horizon.

 

Five years after a landmark international arbitration court ruling repudiated China's claims to the waters where Megu fishes, the 48-year-old complains that his encounters with Chinese boats are more frequent than ever.

 

"I was so scared," said Megu, describing how a Chinese vessel had tracked his wooden outrigger boat for three hours some 140 nautical miles (260 km) from the coast in May.

 

He said other fishermen had reported being rammed or blasted with water cannons while working in what they considered their historic fishing grounds - which they had hoped to secure after the ruling in The Hague in 2016.

 

China rejected the ruling and has stood by its claim to most of the waters within a so-called Nine Dash Line, which is also contested by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.

 

China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

 

In just one incident in March, the Philippines complained of incursions by what it said were more than 200 Chinese militia vessels into the exclusive economic zone (EEZ), which extends 200 nautical miles from its coast.

 

Chinese diplomats said the boats were sheltering from rough seas and no militia were aboard.

 

"The data here is very clear," said Greg Poling of Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies. "Chinese Coast Guard ships and the militia are in the Philippines' EEZ more than they were five years ago."

 

A July 2020 opinion poll showed that 70% of Filipinos want the government to assert its claim in the South China Sea.

 

"We firmly reject attempts to undermine it; nay, even erase it from law, history and our collective memories," Foreign Minister Teodoro Locsin said in a statement last month.

 

The country has made 128 diplomatic protests over China's activities in contested waters since 2016, and coast guard and bureau of fisheries vessels have conducted "sovereign" patrols in the Philippines' EEZ.

 

But the Philippines has done little else to press its claim under firebrand President Rodrigo Duterte, who has made the relationship with China a plan of his foreign policy and said it is "inutile" to try to challenge its vastly bigger neighbour.

 

After some of his cabinet stepped up rhetoric over the waters early this year, Duterte barred them from speaking out.

 

"China is more in control. The only thing the Duterte government can point to is they haven't had a major incident," Poling said. "If you just keep surrendering to the bully, of course there won't be a fight."

 

The Philippine coast guard and ministry of defence did not respond to requests for comment.

 

China's presence has also grown elsewhere in the South China Sea. It has continued to strengthen artificial islands equipped with secured ports, airstrips and surface-to-air-missiles.

 

Confrontations with Vietnam have set back energy projects. Malaysia has complained about the actions of Chinese vessels. Their presence have also drawn concern in Indonesia - even though it is not technically a claimant state.

 

Occasional freedom of navigation operations by the U.S. Navy have challenged China's claims but show no sign of discouraging Beijing from deploying vessels around the Philippines or elsewhere.

 

Before his election in 2016, Duterte had said he would stand up for his country's claims in the South China Sea.

 

He is due to step down at the end of his single six-year term next year, but talk that he could be vice president or be succeeded by his daughter have raised doubts that policies will change.

 

The fishermen of Pangasinan see little hope of a challenge to the Chinese vessels that now dictate their movements.

 

"Now, it is as if we are the ones stealing from our own backyard," said 51-year old fisherman Christopher de Vera.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2021-07-09

[nobodysfriend]

Seen an interesting report on Xi Jinping and the communist party yesterday .

He is THE great leader , he thinks . He is persuaded that the chinese system is far superior to the western system , and that , in a few years , there will be no presence of western forces in the south china sea any more .

He wants Taiwan to belong to China . He will take it back by force in a not too distant future . In this case , chinese military bases on the Spratley's and other artificial islands in the SCS would give China a strategical advantage .

[Tubulat]

2 hours ago, nobodysfriend said:

Seen an interesting report on Xi Jinping and the communist party yesterday .

He is THE great leader , he thinks . He is persuaded that the chinese system is far superior to the western system , and that , in a few years , there will be no presence of western forces in the south china sea any more .

He wants Taiwan to belong to China . He will take it back by force in a not too distant future . In this case , chinese military bases on the Spratley's and other artificial islands in the SCS would give China a strategical advantage .

One step further every time

Also with Tibet.

Xi Jinping, he can only learn in the hardway but who who should teach him that?

[tifino]

 the CPC needs to be face lost into irrelevance - by all affected countries jointly referring to the patch of water - as the South East Asian Sea!! 

 - even though each of them has their own term for it... West sea of Vietnam; Northern sea of Borneo; Eastern sea of PI etc etc 

[chilli42]

There are various translations but nothing has changed in thousands of years “Those being preeminent achieve what is possible and the weak acquiesce to it.”. 

[natway09]

ASEAN have not & never will now get a quorum to act on this.

China has done a great job of splitting this organization by systematically funding or

approving long term loans to countries that now find themselves indebted to China so anytime a vote by ASEAN is held that has anything to do with the "China Creep"

they abstain.

As a result other superpowers are loathe to interfere too much

ASEAN are their own worst enemy on this

[tifino]

1 hour ago, natway09 said:

ASEAN have not & never will now get a quorum to act on this.

China has done a great job of splitting this organization by systematically funding or

approving long term loans to countries that now find themselves indebted to China so anytime a vote by ASEAN is held that has anything to do with the "China Creep"

they abstain.

As a result other superpowers are loathe to interfere too much

ASEAN are their own worst enemy on this

they are now toothless chooks  - lots of peck peck but No bite 

[pacovl46]

Let’s hope they do because then the rest of the world will be forced to act and show the Chinese that this wont’t fly! They need a big damper ASAP! 

[bangon04]

The CCP respects all international rules and norms - unless they do not feel like it.

Everything else is an internal matter. Western powers should not interfere in China's internal matters eg the South China Sea.

[IAMHERE]

5 hours ago, pacovl46 said:

Let’s hope they do because then the rest of the world will be forced to act and show the Chinese that this wont’t fly! They need a big damper ASAP! 

"The rest of the world...".  That'll be the day.

[Flying Saucage]

12 hours ago, tifino said:

they are now toothless chooks  - lots of peck peck but No bite 

ASEAN leaders are bribed with money and luxury watches. They are so greedy, they sell their countries and people to China for that bling.

[bangon04]

2 hours ago, Flying Saucage said:

ASEAN leaders are bribed with money and luxury watches. They are so greedy, they sell their countries and people to China for that bling.

and bear in mind that many of the ruling classes in ASEAN are "cousins" ie ethnic Chinese....

[pacovl46]

22 hours ago, bangon04 said:

The CCP respects all international rules and norms - unless they do not feel like it.

Everything else is an internal matter. Western powers should not interfere in China's internal matters eg the South China Sea.

They don’t respect anything, but money which is their true god! Everything else comes secondary! 
 

There was an international ruling  on the subject matter and therefore it is very much NOT an internal matter and just because “they don’t feel it” doesn’t mean they can do whatever the eff they want!

[bangon04]

2 hours ago, pacovl46 said:

They don’t respect anything, but money which is their true god! Everything else comes secondary! 
 

There was an international ruling  on the subject matter and therefore it is very much NOT an internal matter and just because “they don’t feel it” doesn’t mean they can do whatever the eff they want!

The "international ruling" did not agree with them, therefore Rule 1 applies.....

[pacovl46]

18 hours ago, bangon04 said:

The "international ruling" did not agree with them, therefore Rule 1 applies.....

I call total BS on that one and it just goes to show why they need a serious damper!