It has been construed for quite a
while now that the battle for exclusive control of economic rights in the West
Philippine Sea was long lost by the country, as repeated so often by President
Rodrigo Duterte. China was the regional superpower and the best any neighboring
nation can do was to share and cooperate with it to avoid political friction.
The sheer strength the Chinese can bring to the waters west of the Philippines
can be seen in the hundreds of vessels they have surrounding Pag-asa Island. While
a diplomatic protest from the country seems unlikely to see them off, they
actually did depart.
As ABS-CBN News has it, the intimidating encirclement of vessels from
mainland China around Pag-asa Island, called Thitu in Vietnamese, has since
been called off in the wake of a new diplomatic protest filed by the
Philippines to Beijing. This was confirmed on Tuesday, August 6, by the
Philippine armed forces, which maintains a garrison there as its primary
presence on the Spratly Island chain that Pag-asa is part of. Ever since July a
flotilla of Chinese fishing vessels has maintained a round-the-clock stationing
offshore, fueling suspicions that their crews are undercover Chinese military
personnel.
In a Tuesday statement, AFP Western
Command chief Vice Admiral Rene Medina noted that the disappearance of the
Chinese vessels around Pag-asa was first noticed some four days ago, with no
discernible reason for their pullout. Estimates by observers on the island note
an average of 140 fishing boats from China maintaining the encirclement before,
though this was also slightly reduced to 115 following the passage of Tropical
Depression Falcon. V-Adm. Medina remarks of the situation, "We are also
working with Joint Task Force West to conduct patrol so that we can also verify
in any areas of West Philippine Sea where they might be.”
The Philippines is not only
having trouble with questionable Chinese encroachment on their West Philippine
Sea holdings, it has even spread to the country’s mainland. Just last month,
security at the Parola Naval station in Palawan caught two Chinese taking
pictures of a new Philippine Navy ship berthed there. They identified
themselves as tourists, but analysts could not help but wonder at the recent circumstances.
One possible explanation for the
Chinese vessel pullout could be anything from fleeing the possible weather disturbances
trigger by Tropical Storm Hanna, or to prepare to observe the recent entry of the
American naval aircraft carrier USS
Ronald Reagan into Philippine waters this same day.
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