The Philippine Defense Ministry on Thursday announced an increased military presence in the South China Sea in the face of increased Chinese activities in the disputed waters.
The authorities, who have not specified what activities are involved, have indicated that just this week, China has carried out a series of construction work in four uninhabited areas of the Spratly Islands.
They have warned that any claim within the exclusive economic zone is considered a «threat to the security of the island of Thitu, which is part of the sovereign territory of the Philippines», as indicated by the Ministry of Defense in statements reported by the news portal Rappler.
«We insistently call on China to comply with the norms of international law and avoid increasing tension in the region,» it has asserted, while the Chinese Embassy in Manila, the Philippine capital, has reiterated that Beijing complies with its commitments in the area.
China claims sovereignty over the waters of a large part of the South China Sea, where for years it has been engaged in a territorial dispute with Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines.
Significant hydrocarbon reserves have been discovered on the continental shelf of these islands, especially in the Xisha Islands (the Paracelsus Islands), Nansha (the Spratly Islands) and Huangyan (the Scarborough Reef). Thitu, which belongs to the Spratlys, is the most strategically important of the nine islands occupied by the Philippines and is located near the Chinese-administered Subi Reef.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
