TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Philippines has rejected assertions by the Chinese Foreign Ministry that Philippine boats must ask permission to access the Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea.
The Second Thomas Shoal is where the BRP Sierra Madre is grounded and serves as a military base for the Philippines. Numerous Philippine officials rejected the idea that they must ask permission from China to access the area, emphasizing that the Second Thomas Shoal is located within Philippine territorial waters and not China’s.
Following a series of altercations in the area between Chinese and Philippine forces, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning (毛寧) said on Saturday (June 8) that China would grant permission to the Philippines to access the area if they inform Chinese authorities in advance, reported Philstar.
In response, National Security Advisor Eduardo Ano called Mao’s statement “absurd, nonsense, and unacceptable.”
His comments were echoed by Philippine Navy spokesperson Roy Vincent Trinidad on Sunday. “(China has) no right to demand, they have no right to set any conditions, in the first place they should be out of our EEZ,” Trinidad said, per PNA.
In mid-May, a Philippine convoy sent to deliver supplies and transport a sick soldier from the BRP Sierra Madre was harassed by the Chinese coast guard and Chinese fisherman. During the incident, some supplies for the military base were allegedly stolen.
Speaking to the media on Sunday, Trinidad said that China’s aggressive actions in the South China Sea have become “a global concern” for nations about China’s disregard for international law and other nations’ maritime domain.
Trinidad said that the Philippines will continue to stand up for its sovereignty in the region and provision and rotate troops on the BRP Sierra Madre, per PNA.
