The Philippine government expects China to try another build-up on a reef within the Scarborough Shoal, which sits just 230 kilometers from the main Philippine island of Luzon, defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said in a media interview.
Lorenzana said he believed China would eventually reclaim the Scarborough Shoal, a move he said would be “unacceptable” and could be a flashpoint for a naval military conflict.
China reclaimed a number of islets and reefs on Spratly, turned it into artificial islands, installed modern military facilities and defense weaponry on them. Military analysts say that similar installations on Scarborough Shoal could give China powerful and effective military control over the disputed waterway, something the United States has said it is not set up to acknowledge.
Lorenzana said “They encroached,” a 2012 encounter that saw Philippine vessels displaced. “They occupied three islands there plus they are trying to get Scarborough. So to us, that is unacceptable”.
“If we allow them, they will build. That’s very, very disturbing. Very much (more) disturbing than Fiery Cross because this is so close to us,” Lorenzana said, alluding to one of the Philippine-claimed reefs China has built and based on.
Moreover, Lorenzana said Chinese island-reclamation efforts were intended to control the West Philippine Sea and the whole South China Sea.
“That could be their strategy to counter any superpower that would encroach on the South China Sea because they believe the South China Sea is – that’s like their lake to them – theirs,” Lorenzana added.
A year ago, the former president, Benigno Aquino III brought a case to a UN-backed tribunal. The ruling favors the Philippines. It ruled that China had no legal basis on the so-called “nine-dash-line” which invalids Beijing’s claim to most of the South China Sea.– Jason E.
So what’s Duterte planning on doing when the Chinese starts building in the Scarborough Shoal? Send a note to the Chinese, “I object?” He just said no to Missiles from Japan, pissed of the Americans by insulting them and by cozying up to the enemy, and stopped the USA from storing arms, etc. in the Philippines.. When the enemy starts to turn on us, send Duterte to the Scarborough Shoal with his tirador to face the Chinese!!
He should have sued the Chinese in the World Court and all nations where the Chinese have assets and demand they leave our EEZ., , start arming with missiles at least both anti-ship and SAM batteries, and radars from the Babuyan Islands, both sides of the Philippines, Pagasa in the the Spratlys.. give permission for the USA to beach one of their just retired Aircraft Carriers with full compliments in one of our islands in the Spratlys inside our EEZ, fix our airstrip in the Spratlys and station a squadron of fighter planes, attack helicopters, fast PT boats armed with missiles, dig in batteries of missiles, and rocket launchers and strong radars.
libreng mangarap
The Philippines should concentrate it’s domestic agenda like fighting drug abuses and corruption within its system or build on its many Islands than worrying about its problems with China in the South China Sea