China says it held patrols around Scarborough; PCG disputes claim

China said that its coast guard and military conducted patrols around Scarborough Shoal on Saturday, but the Philippine Coast Guard disputed this claim.

State-run Xinhua news agency reported that it was part of China’s move to "resolutely safeguard its sovereignty, maritime rights, and interests," according to Reuters. 

Sought for comment, PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea (WPS) Commodore Jay Tarriela, belied China’s claim, saying that the latter's ships did not respond to challenges made by Philippine vessels.

“How do they even safeguard something that was already invalidated by the 2016 Arbitral Award? Moreover, why would we believe them if they do not even respond to the radio challenges conducted by BRP Cabra and BRP Teresa Magbanua in the past days as we document and expose their illegal incursions to the international community?” Tarriela told GMA News Online.

China plans to establish a nature reserve in the Scarborough Shoal, which is within Manila's exclusive economic zone but being claimed by Beijing as its own.

Former Supreme Court Justice Antonio Carpio likened the plan to Beijing’s militarization of Fiery Cross Reef and Mischief Reef over the past decades.

“The same playbook is being used on Scarborough Shoal.  China is saying, 'We're putting up a nature reserve.' Now, to operate a nature reserve, you must monitor it, and it can be manned. Your monitoring station can be manned. So, it looks like that is a playbook of China,” Carpio said in an ambush interview on November 27.

Carpio was part of the Philippine delegation in the 2013 arbitration case against China, which led to the landmark victory for Manila in 2016.

China, however, does not recognize the decision by the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration. —VBL, GMA Integrated News