Palace: Visit of US aircraft carrier part of freedom of navigation

Malacañang on Friday welcomed the presence of aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson in the disputed South China Sea, saying it underscores freedom of navigation in the resource-rich area.

“All vessels, including aircraft carriers, are entitled to freedom of navigation in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea),” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said.

Without elaborating, Roque hoped that “there will be no untoward incident on the occasion of the visit of USS Carl Vinson in our region.”

The Carl Vinson, one of the United States Navy's longest-serving active carriers, is currently conducting what officials say is a routine mission through the hotly contested waters where years of island reclamation and military construction by Beijing have rattled regional nerves.

The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier arrived in Manila on Friday.

Carl Vinson hosted top Philippine government and military officials on Wednesday before arriving, according to a statement from the Carl Vinson Strike Group Public Affairs.

Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea and Communications Secretary Martin Andanar and others flew aboard the Carl Vinson with US Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim.

Beijing claims most of the South China Sea — believed to hold vast oil and gas deposits and through which $5 trillion in trade passes annually — and has rapidly built reefs into artificial islands capable of hosting military planes.

The Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei also have claims in the sea.

Last week, President Rodrigo Duterte linked China’s assertiveness in the South China Sea to Beijing’s rivalry with Washington for global supremacy.

Duterte also said it is not the time to fight over the South China Sea.

“We are neutral. We will continue to talk with China. This is not the time to be fighting over South China Sea because it will only lead to a war,” the President said in a news conference on February 9.

The United Nations-backed Permanent Court of Arbitration delivered in July 2016 a sweeping victory to the Philippines on the case it filed against China during the term of then-President Benigno Aquino III, declaring as illegal China's claim over nearly the entire South China Sea.

It also declared that Beijing violated the rights of Filipinos, who were blocked by Chinese Coast Guard from fishing in the disputed Scarborough Shoal off Zambales.

Duterte, however, temporarily set aside the ruling to avoid confrontation with China, but vowed to raise it at the right time during his presidency.  —KBK, GMA News