The China Coast Guard (CCG) announced on Saturday that it has taken regulatory actions against Philippine ships that illegally entered the waters adjacent to Ren’ai Jiao of China’s Nansha Qundao.
CCG spokesperson Gan Yu said that the Philippines broke its promise and once again sent two coast guard ships and a supply ship into waters adjacent to Ren’ai Jiao on Saturday, adding that the trespass occurred only eighteen days after the Philippines sent a previous supply ship to the reef.
He said the vessels were attempting to deliver supplies and construction materials to an illegally “grounded” warship.
“The Philippine side took the opportunity to infringe, provoke, and cause trouble, deliberately undermining the peace and stability of the South China Sea,” Gan said in a statement.
According to CCG, the latest Philippine supply ship at the scene ignored China’s repeated warnings and route controls and forced its way in. The China Coast Guard intervened, intercepted, and drove the vessels away in accordance with laws and regulations, handling matters in a reasonable, legal, and professional manner.
“We are telling the Philippines: Those who play with fire will bring disgrace to themselves,” Gan warned.
He added that the China Coast Guard is on standby at all times to resolutely safeguard the country’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.
The Philippines has announced it has turned the Ren’ai Reef into a military outpost. Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department stated on its website that it condemned what it called China’s disruption of “supply lines to this longstanding outpost.”
CGTN spoke to Yang Xiao, deputy director of the Institute of Maritime Strategy Studies at China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR), on the Philippines’ increasing supplies to the Reef, and encounters between China and the Philippine Coast Guard.
“The attempt to expand military outposts has been planned for a long time by the Philippines and the United States. It is entering the stage of accelerated implementation,”Yang said.
He added that the Philippine side finished a round of massive supplies to the Reef on March 5th and the rotation of personnel near the grounded warship, but there is no sign showing the need for a new shipment less than three weeks later.
“To cover up its attempts to destroy and militarize Ren’ai Jiao, the Philippines has further escalated its ‘abnormal supply operations’ into a battle of public opinion and misshaped global impressions on the matter,” Yang said.
