Filipino, Vietnamese activists condemn missile deployment in Paracels

Dozens of Filipino and Vietnamese activists rallied outside the Chinese consulate in Makati City on Thursday to condemn Beijing's radar and weaponry deployment in the West Philippine (South China) Sea.

 

The US says China has deployed surface-to-air missiles on Woody Island in the South China Sea's Paracel chain and radars on Calderon (Cuarteron) Reef in the Kalayaan (Spratly) islands further to the south.

 

 

Filipino activists blew horns while a group of Vietnamese students carried their national flag to protest.The activists also held banners calling on Beijing to "go away" and for the Philippines and Vietnam to "join hands to kick out China".

 

"We are here to show our serious concern about their aggressive action of China in South China Sea and on the militarization action. We call for China to remove all the weapons on South China Sea. Stop bullying us and stop militarization in South China Sea," said Amber Lee, a spokesperson for the Association of Vietnamese Students in the Philippines (AVSP).

 

Former national security adviser and president of the Movement and Alliance to Resist China's Aggression, Roilo Golez, accused Beijing of not following international law.

 

"China, instead of behaving like a civilized country after the decision of the permanent court of arbitration to take jurisdiction over the case we filed, and after the US met with ASEAN, what China has done is announce a series of moves - very provocative and very negative and aggressive moves," he said.

 

AVSP President Nguyen Quoc Giang urged the international community to oppose China's aggressive behavior in the West Philippine Sea.

 

"We would like to call for peace in the South China Sea and we call for the international community to join hands to oppose China's militarization and illegal action in the region and in the South China Sea," he said.

 

China claims most of the West Philippine Sea, through which more than $5 trillion in global trade passes every year. Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Taiwan have rival claims.

 

On Wednesday, a senior Pentagon official said the US will increase freedom-of-navigation operations in the region.

 

China says its military facilities in the West Philippine Sea are "legal and appropriate," and on Tuesday, in an apparent reference to U.S. patrols, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Beijing hoped not to see more close-up reconnaissance, or the dispatch of missile destroyers or strategic bombers. — Reuters