US tells China: Dont use Navy to threaten

fishermen
Chinese confirmation
Not true, Vice Adm. Alexander Lopez, the Wescom chief, said on Wednesday.
Lopez said a Wescom air patrol on Feb. 24 did not see Chinese vessels near Quirino Atoll. Only
Filipino fishermen were seen in the area, he said.
The Chinese foreign ministry confirmed, however, that the Ministry of Transportation dispatched
ships to salvage a fishing vessel that ran aground near Quirino Atoll in late 2015 and which
posed a risk to navigation.
Hong Lei, spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry, said the Chinese ships persuaded
fishing boats to leave the waters in an effort to ensure safety conditions for normal navigation.
The Chinese vessels returned home after completing their work, he said.
Quirino Atoll lies several kilometers from Panganiban (Mischief) Reef, another part of the
Spratlys that China occupied in 1995 and had since developed into an artificial island.
Bito-onon said Filipino, Vietnamese and Malaysian fishermen had been fishing at Quirino Atoll
for years.
Im alarmed because we frequently pass by that atoll on our way to Pagasa, Bito-onon said,
referring to the island that serves as the seat of the municipal government of Kalayaan.
Pagasa (Thitu Island) is the only inhabited island in the Kalayaan group. It has a dilapidated
airstrip, a five-bed lying-in clinic and a small elementary school.
Bito-onon said Philippine planes landing and taking off at Pagasa had been warned frequently to
stay away by Chinese forces based at nearby Zamora (Subi) Reef, one of seven disputed reefs in
the Spratlys that China has transformed into an artificial island.
He said the plane that he was on last week flew to Pagasa and was shooed away by the Chinese,
too.
China claims almost all of the South China Sea, including waters claimed by Brunei, Malaysia,
the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan, and has built artificial islands in the Spratlys to bolster its
sweeping claims.

PH arbitration case
The Philippines has taken its territorial dispute with China to the United Nations Permanent
Court of Arbitration for resolution. The court has heard the case despite Chinas refusal to
participate in the proceedings, and is expected to hand down a ruling by midyear.
The United States, European Union, Australia, Japan and other countries have warned China
against its increasing assertiveness in the South China Sea, but former Paraaque Rep. Roilo
Golez said on Thursday that without sufficient international outrage, Beijings next move might
be to deploy antiaircraft missiles and install radars on territory closer to the Philippine mainland.
China has deployed surface-to-air missiles on Woody Island in the Paracel archipelago and
installed radars on Calderon (Cuarteron) Reef, part of the Kalayaan group.
Im worried that without outrage, if the world will not be angry, Chinas next step is to go down
south closer to us, Golez said.

Coast Guard patrol

Presidential candidates in the May 9 national elections had varying reactions to the latest Chinese
moves in the Spratlys.
Sen. Grace Poe said the situation in the Spratlys had reached a point beyond diplomatic protest.
She recommended sending Philippine Coast Guard vessels to the disputed area to assert and
protect our rights, as well as that of our poor fishermen.
Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago accused the Aquino administration of complacency in the South
China Sea dispute and promised that if elected she would open a second level of diplomacy to
resolve the issue.
If elected, I will negotiate with China together with other Asian countries, Santiago said,
adding that her administration would not depend too much on US support.