Chinese fishing fleet arrives in Spratlys—report

A fleet of 30 Chinese fishing vessels arrived in the disputed Spratly Islands over the weekend, a Hong Kong news site reported early Monday.

 

The report on Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) said it took the vessels 78 hours from the mainland to reach the area.

 

"The move is likely to raise tensions in both the South and East China Seas," the RTHK report said.

 

It said parts—or all—of the archipelago is being claimed by six countries: the Philippines, China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei.

 

The Philippines in particular has had a standoff with China over the Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, which China refers to as Huangyan Island.

 

Since April, Manila and Beijing have been trying to diplomatically resolve the dispute where Philippine forces spotted Chinese fishermen gathering marine species in the area but were blocked by Chinese vessels when trying to make arrests. –KG, GMA News