Australia will Support the Philippines Spratlys - with America

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) guaranteed 200 Nautical Mile Economic Zone for the Philippines, China, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia. UNCLOS did not show any China’s territory in the West Philippines Sea’s Spratlys. China’s limit is only until Paracel islands adjacent to their waters.  The Philippines recorded already 6 invasions by china to the West Philippine Sea as of June 16, 2011.

Australia on Thursday (16th June 2011) expressed their support to the Philippines' call for a peaceful resolution on the issue concerning the Spratly Islands in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

Australia, which has various oil and gas exploration projects in the Philippines, said at a bilateral meeting between the two countries that it calls for a peaceful resolution of the dispute in the reputedly oil-rich islands. The two-day meeting in Canberra concluded Thursday.

“Ministers and secretaries reaffirmed the view of both countries that territorial disputes should be settled peacefully and in a manner consistent with [the] international law," according to a joint statement, a copy of which was secured by GMA News Online.

The Philippines has recently accused China of intrusion into its territory near Palawan province.

Value and obey the UNCLOS

Australia said those involved in the territorial dispute — Brunei, China, Malaysia, Philippines, and Taiwan — should adhere to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which codifies the international law of the sea.

Officials of the Philippines and Australia also engaged in extensive and detailed discussions on strategic issues such as maritime security at the West Philippine Sea.

Australia’s expression of support came less than a week after Washington expressed its support to Manila over the same issue.

Rules-based, cooperative approaches

Manila, which earlier accused Beijing of violating an agreement aimed at preventing tensions in the region, challenged other claimants over the potentially oil-rich region to adhere to UNCLOS to prevent armed conflict and ensure freedom of navigation.

The Philippines and Australia are one in supporting “rules-based, cooperative approaches" in addressing conflicts at the Spratlys Islands, according to the joint statement.

Philippine officials said it has recorded at least six Chinese incursions in Philippine-claimed areas in the Spratlys Islands. The Philippine military has discovered the installation of Chinese posts in Amy Douglas Reef, which it said was well within the country’s 200 Nautical Mile Exclusive Economic Zone.

 

Continue reading

Philippines'Navy and Coast Guard remove Chinese markers in Spratlys

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) guaranteed 200 Nautical Mile Economic Zone for the Philippines, China, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia. UNCLOS did not show any China’s territory in the West Philippines Sea’s Spratlys. China’s limit is only until Paracel islands.  The Philippines recorded already 6 invasions by china to the West Philippine Sea as of June 16, 2011.

The UNCLOS 200 Nautical Miles Exclusive Economic Zone guaranteed to the Philippines and other claimants in the islands near Spratlys

Distance of the Spratlys Islands to the Philippines’ shore

·        Amy Douglas Bank – 231 KM or 124.73 Nautical Miles from Palawan Province, Philippines

·        Recto Bank (Formerly Reed bank) – 157 KM or 84.77 Nautical Miles

·        Mischief Shoal -  250 KM 0r 134.99 Nautical Miles

The Philippine Navy and the Philippine Coast Guard have removed wooden markers and plastic buoys left by Chinese authorities on three reefs located between southwestern Philippines and the chain of eight islands claimed by the Philippines in the disputed Spratly Archipelago off the South China Sea, recently renamed in the country as the West Philippine Sea.

The markers were taken out as soon as Philippine authorities found them near the Amy Douglas Bank, 231km from Palawan, southwest Philippines, said a report.

Another marker was plucked out near Recto Bank, formerly known as Reed Bank, 157km from Palawan. A buoy was lifted from the sea near Boxall Reef, also located within Philippine territory.

China's erection of poles and a buoy near the Amy Douglas Bank are serious threats or proof that Beijing has "aggressively violated" the Declaration of the Code of Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) that China and the 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) signed in 2002, Philippine authorities said in a complaint against China.

Ian Storey of Singapore's Institute of Southeast Asian Studies called China's moves ‘aggressive ... not just assertive.'

Following complaints by the Philippines, China said it left materials on the contested area for research and not for a takeover of the reefs and atolls in the Spratly Archipelago.

Structures

Meanwhile, Philippine authorities have not yet acted radically on the structures that China reportedly built on a total of six reefs within Philippine territories, a political analyst said.

In 1995, Philippine authorities found structures that China had built on Mischief Shoal, 250km from Palawan.

The incident resulted in the signing of the code of conduct for claimants in the contested sea lane and the Spratly Archipelago between China and Asean in 2002.

Reacting to China's reported move of this kind, Euan Graham, senior fellow in the Military Studies Programme of Singapore's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, said, "If there is new building on a previously unoccupied feature, that would be a fairly clear breach of the DOC."

 

Continue reading