China violated sea code with construction activity, DFA says

Published May 15, 2014 11:37am

(Updated 3:42 p.m.) The Department of Foreign Affairs on Thursday accused China anew of violating international law and defying a non-binding code of conduct in the South China Sea for reclaiming a Philippine-claimed reef in the disputed waters.

A series of photographs released by the DFA showed in stages the extensive reclamation by China on Johnson South Reef, which is known locally as Mabini Reef, from March 13, 2012 to March 11, 2014. The DFA said it obtained the photos from Philippine intelligence sources.

China’s expansion moves in the reef demonstrates its resolve to assert claims over nearly the entire resource-rich waters while ignoring calls from the international community against raising tensions in the area.

“These actions are considered destabilizing and in violation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) and international law,” the DFA said in a statement.

As of posting time, GMA News Online was still reaching the Chinese Embassy for its comment.

The Philippines has lodged a protest against the Chinese construction activity, but Beijing has rejected it.

Mabini Reef is also being claimed by Vietnam, which used to have a presence in the area. It fell under Chinese control in 1988 after a bloody skirmish between militaries of both countries that led to the deaths 64 Vietnamese soldiers.

The DFA maintained that Mabini Reef “is part of the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) which is part of Philippine territory.”

GMA Online sources said the size of the reclaimed area is estimated at 31 hectares, leading to speculations that China will build an airstrip there.

Confusion among judges

Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose expressed concern on China’s apparent effort to change the status quo in the South China Sea by converting Mabini Reef to an island from a rock as this may have an implication on the case filed by the Philippines against Beijing before an arbitral tribunal.

“In our protest to China, we said this reclamation could undermine the arbitral tribunal’s review of our case because of the reclamation,” Jose told a press briefing. “The nature of (Mabini Reef’s) land feature is being altered so the status quo is being changed.”

He explained that the modification of Mabini Reef’s feature could cause confusion among the tribunal’s panel of judges.

Manila filed a case against China before a The Hague-based tribunal in January 2013 to question the legality of its massive claim. The Philippines has recently included Mabini Reef in its written pleading or memorial to “clarify” the reef’s “physical character.”

Jose also chided China for being “inconsistent” in words and actions.

“Remember, it tried to block our vessels carrying provisions and fresh troops to Ayungin Shoal and even accused us of carrying construction materials to reinforce or improve our facilities there, which is not true,” he said, referring to a rocky outcrop in the South China Sea where several Filipino Marines are guarding an outpost that was set up in 1999 to mark it as part of Philippine territory.

On the contrary, “it turned out that they are undertaking a reclamation of Mabini Reef,” Jose noted.

China says its claims are indisputable and anchored on history.

Manila filed a case against China before a The Hague-based tribunal to question the legality of its massive claim.

In 2002, China and the Association of South East Asian Nations, of which the Philippines and other South China Sea claimants Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei are members, signed a non-binding code of conduct to ease tensions in the area. Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar are also part of the ASEAN.

The Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea calls on all claimants to exercise restraint and stop new occupation of territories in the South China Sea. However, it lacks the power to sanction states that will violate its provisions.

Chinese rival Taiwan, which Beijing considers a renegade province, is not an ASEAN member but lays claim to the South China Sea and occupies the largest island in the contested waters. — RSJ, GMA News

Tags: mabinireef, johnsonreef, johnsonsouthreef, southchinasea