No letup in China’s creeping invasion in SCS—PH Navy

There has been no letup in China’s efforts to improve its “militarized” facilities in the South China Sea, including areas that are within Manila’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), the Philippine Navy said on Tuesday as it hit the “creeping invasion” in the area.

Navy spokesperson for West Philippine Sea Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad said up until 2013, China has reclaimed a total of 3,000 hectares of area in the SCS, including those within the Philippine EEZ.

“The major bases, Subi, Mischief, Johnson are already militarized. They have airstrips. They have harbors for warships. There are structures on land that we could only surmise are aircraft hangars. They have military-grade communications equipment,” he said.

While there has been new Chinese reclamation in the SCS since 2013, Trinidad said there were some recent improvements of Beijing’s facilities.

“We monitored the presence of construction vehicles, heavy equipment vehicles, and the putting up of more structures on Subi Reef,” he said. “It is safe to assume that they have continued their maintenance and expansion little by little. As it is right now it is a fully functional military base with naval and airforce capabilities.”

Subi Reef, which is outside the country’s EEZ, is occupied by China and is also being claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan.

“Is there a creeping invasion? Yes, and this has begun since 1992 since we started noticing Chinese markers in the expanse of the West Philippine Sea and the South China Sea,” Trinidad said.

For his part, retired Supreme Court Justice Antonio Carpio said joint patrols with like-minded states prove to be the strongest enforcement of Philippine sovereignty and legal maritime claims in the West Philippine Sea.

“The PH should hold more joint sails with like-minded states in the WPS. Everytime there is a joint sail, we and our like-minded friends rebut China’s claim that the waters and resources within the ten-dash line are China’s national territory,” Carpio told Manila Standard.

Japan and the Philippines recently concluded their first bilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity (MCA), with Tokyo sending its Takanami-class destroyer JS Sazanami and Manila deploying its multi-role guided missile frigate BRP Jose Rizal.

The Philippines Coast Guard also conducted its first joint maritime drills with its Vietnamese counterparts.

“The bulk of those reclamations are on Philippine EEZ (Mischief Reef) and Philippine territorial sea (Subi Reef). Mischief Reef is the largest air and naval base of China in the Spratlys with a three-kilometer runway,” Carpio said.

“Subi Reef, which is also an air and naval base with a three-kilometer runway, is within the territorial sea of Pagasa, the largest island we occupy in the Spratlys. China has another huge air and naval base on Fiery Cross Reef. These air and naval bases will enforce China’s ten-dash line as China’s national boundary in the South China Sea,” he added.