The Philippines says tension with China over disputed islands in the South China Sea is the country’s most pressing security concern.
China claims most of the islands in the South China Sea, putting it at odds with other claimants like the Philippines and Vietnam, which are backed by the US.
The dispute has come to a head amid threat and counter-threat between the US and China as Beijing pledged to strengthen its naval defenses.
At a Philippines military forum on the dispute, Philippines undersecretary for foreign affairs policy Evan Garcia said that the South China Sea dispute needed to be dealt with.
“The Philippines is playing the longest catch up game,” he said. “We are focusing immediately on acquiring and building up our capabilities that we should have done before … so we can protect what’s ours.”
The message was backed up by brigadier-general Guillermo Molina, who runs the Philippine military’s Western Command near the Spratly Islands.
He said the dispute was now the country’s most pressing security concern ahead of internal security issues.
The Western Command has been tracking rapid Chinese reclamation on the disputed islands.
Brigadier-general Molina said the region is a flashpoint. “It’s been a brewing source of conflict for so many decades,” he said.
“But with the technological advancements being wielded by China because of the reclamation and construction activities, it’s really opening up a lot of concerns for the rest of the claimant countries.
“It is the most pressing security concern for us.”
Brigadier-general Molina accused China of harassing the Philippines military by flashing lights at planes taking off and landing, and radio calls to Filipino pilots telling them to leave the area because it was a military zone.
Manila has taken China to an international tribunal for a ruling on the disputed islands in a move slammed by Beijing which refuses to take part.
Garcia said the Philippines want a peaceful resolution. “Our going to court is in itself a way of calming tensions,” he said. “It’s non-military, it’s non-violent and it can be entirely consensual if the Chinese will come on board.”
China says it has a historical right to much of the South China Sea and has rapidly been reclaiming land on the disputed reefs.
Beijing’s new defense strategy released this week is aimed at safeguarding its maritime interests. It has warned it will fight back if attacked. In an interview in Beijing, senior colonel Zhou Bo, from China’s defense ministry, denied China was being aggressive in the South China Sea by rapidly reclaiming land. “I think people should use the word assertive rather than aggressive,” he said.
Dr Ian Storey from the Institute of South-East Asian Studies in Singapore said while an all out war is unlikely, there was a risk of an accidental conflict in the South China Sea.
“It is in no country’s interest, including China’s, to see conflict in the South China Sea,” Dr Storey said.
“But the risk in the South China Sea is one of these incidents at sea results in a naval clash, which quickly escalates into a much more serious political crisis.
And for all the rhetoric from the Philippines, Dr Storey said the Philippines could drop the legal case when President Benigno Aquino steps down next year.
“This case will continue as long as Aquino is in power. After Aquino, who knows?” he said.
For those on the frontline, the risks of confrontation are very real.
Jim Gomez, chief correspondent for Associated Press in Manila, was on a Philippines boat that was challenged by a Chinese coastguard ship last year while trying to re-supply troops on another Filipino ship on the Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands.
“Your action here has infringed upon the laws of the People’s Republic of China,” the Chinese coast guard radioed the Philippines navy officers.
Gomez said the exchange was frightening. “The way I saw it from the boat, the Chinese coastguard ship passed in front of the small boat we were on and there was tension,” he said.
The Philippines boat then outmaneuvered the Chinese coast guard and resupplied the troops.
