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| This Oct. 3, 2019 satellite photo shows the repair of the runway and the construction of a new beaching ramp on Pag-asa Island in the West Philippine Sea. (Photo from CSIS/AMTI via Maxar Technologies) |
[Asia News Communication = Reporter Reakkana] MANILA— Only 32 Chinese vessels remain stationed around Julian Felipe Reef, but the Philippines will continue to demand their withdrawal, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said yesterday, according to PhilStar. “From 220 on March 27, their number has gone down to 32 in the past three days. It’s good they (Chinese) followed our request for them to remove their ships from Julian Felipe,” Lorenzana said in Filipino on GMA News Digital.
He noted that the swarming of vessels, believed to be manned by Chinese militia personnel, has been a cause of alarm and concern for the Philippines. “We will continue to ask them to remove the vessels, but they may keep one or two or three, but more than that will create alarm,” he said. The Julian Felipe Reef is part of Kalayaan municipality and is within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The swarming of 220 Chinese vessels in the reef set off a word war between the defense secretary and the spokesman of the Chinese embassy.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), for its part, filed diplomatic protests against Beijing over the incursion. Lorenzana said he felt glad by the show of support for the Philippines by the United States and other nations on the West Philippine Sea issue.
