MANILA, Philippines—The Philippines said on March 4 that it had spotted a Chinese navy ship and dozens of militia vessels around a contested Philippine-occupied island in the South China Sea, as territorial tensions mount in the area.
The Philippine Coast Guard stated that 42 vessels believed to be crewed by Chinese maritime militia personnel were seen in the vicinity of Thitu Island, while a Chinese navy vessel and coast guard ship were observed “slowly loitering” in the surrounding waters.
Officials with the Chinese embassy in Manila didn’t respond by press time to a request by The Epoch Times for comment on the assertion.
Thitu in the Spratly Island chain is Manila’s biggest and most strategically important outpost in the South China Sea, a body of water largely claimed by Beijing where several countries have conflicting territorial claims.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said two weeks ago that the Philippines “will not lose an inch” of territory as the Southeast Asian country protested the Chinese regime’s “aggressive activities” in the sea.
Locally known as Pag-asa, Thitu lies about 300 miles (480 kilometers) west of the western Philippine province of Palawan. Home to more than 400 people, including military and law enforcement personnel, the island is used by Manila to maintain its territorial claim.
Experts say the Chinese regime’s fishing fleet and coast guard are central to its strategic ambitions in the South China Sea, maintaining a constant presence that complicates fishing and offshore energy activities by other coastal nations.
“Their continuing unauthorized presence is clearly inconsistent with the right of innocent passage and a blatant violation of the Philippines’ territorial integrity,” the coast guard said in a statement.
Marcos summoned the Chinese ambassador last month to complain about the intensity and frequency of China’s actions in the South China Sea.
The Philippines has filed 77 complaints against China’s activities in the sea, including a claim that a Chinese coast guard ship on Feb. 6 directed a “military-grade laser” at a Philippine coast guard ship on a supply mission.
China claims sovereignty over the Spratlys, while Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam all have competing claims for some or all of the islands.
