China and Philippines tussle again over disputed shoal

[Ulhas Joglekar]

4 February 2000
China and Philippines tussle again over disputed shoal
BEIJING: Stepping up a tussle of wills, China and the Philippines on
Thursday both renewed conflicting claims to a disputed shoal in rich fishing
grounds of the South China Sea.
China's Foreign Ministry, citing ancient texts and more recent maps, said
Huangyan Island has always been Chinese. But the Philippines, which calls
the island Scarborough Shoal, disputed the claim and accused Chinese
fishermen of endangering the nation's food security by poaching in the area.
The latest claims, counter-claims and accusations followed verbal salvoes
swapped earlier in the week by China and the Philippines over the rocky
outcrop. It lies about 215 kilometers (130 miles) off the western Philippine
province of Zambales and is surrounded by rich fishing grounds.
In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao said Thursday
that Huangyan is clearly named in ancient historical Chinese documents, and
maps and textbooks published in China since 1935 have all indicated that the
island is part of Chinese territory.
Philippine government maps, meanwhile, show that the shoal is not within its
territory, Zhu said. The shoal also is to the west of the territorial limit
of the Philippines as defined by three treaties signed between Spain and the
United States in 1898 and in 1900 and between the United States and Britain
in 1930, Zhu said.
He also said that the Philippines' claim that the shoal lies within its
200-mile (320-kilometer) exclusive economic zone is an "excuse" that "does
not hold water."
"We hope that the Philippines side will abide by the basic facts and the
norms governing international relations and refrain from making such
irresponsible remarks again," Zhu said at a regular briefing for reporters.
"Huangyan Island has always been an integral part of Chinese territory."
But in Manila, Philippine Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado repeated that
Scarborough Shoal belongs to the Philippines. At a news briefing, he
presented photographs of dynamite, blasting caps and corals seized from
Chinese fishing boats that founded in the shoal's waters last month by the
Philippine navy.
Mercado said the photos prove that Chinese fishermen were harvesting corals
in the shoal in violation of a Philippine fisheries code and an
international treaty banning trade in endangered species which both China
and the Philippines have signed.
Copies of the photographs will be given to the Chinese Embassy in Manila, he
said. He accused the fishermen of endangering the Philippine's food security
by poaching in an area that is part of one of the country's main fishing
grounds.
Zhu, the Chinese spokesman, on Tuesday accused Filipino authorities of
harassing, forcibly boarding and robbing Chinese boats fishing in the
island's waters.
Philippine presidential spokesman Jerry Barican responded Wednesday,
expressing regret at Zhu's accusations and saying they "will not enhance
Philippine-China relations."
Manila has "absolute sovereignty and effective territorial jurisdiction"
over the shoal, he said.
Barican added that Filipinos have been fishing in the shoal for generations
while Chinese fishermen began venturing to the area only in the early 1990s
when Beijing began pursuing its claims in the South China Sea.(AP)
For reprint rights: Times Syndication Service
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