DFA: New Chinese construction in Spratlys violates int'l law

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Wednesday said it is "seriously concerned" over reports of China's new construction and reclamation activities in the disputed South China Sea, saying it violates international law and existing agreement with claimants.

A report published by Bloomberg said China has engaged in fresh construction activities in at least four unoccupied features in the Spratlys, including Lankiam Cay or Panata Reef, which is being claimed by the Philippines.

“The Department takes note of the Bloomberg article on reported reclamation activities by China in unoccupied features of the Spratlys. We are seriously concerned as such activities contravene the Declaration of Conduct on the South China Sea’s undertaking on self-restraint and the 2016 Arbitral Award," a DFA statement said.

Quoting unnamed Western officials, Bloomberg said reclamation activities have been taking place in Eldad Reef in the northern Spratlys, Lankiam Cay, Whitsun Reef and Sandy Cay, where "some sand bars and other formations in the area expanded more than 10 times in size in recent years."

The DFA said it has asked relevant Philippine agencies to verify and validate the contents of the report, which came out a few weeks before President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. undertakes a state visit to China in early January.

Bloomberg reported that Chinese fishing fleets operating as de facto maritime militias have carried out construction activities in the area — a move that could spark tensions anew in the region.

Large holes, debris piles and excavator tracks were seen in the areas as well as amphibious hydraulic excavator used in land reclamation projects, the report said.

Images seen by Bloomberg also showed "physical changes at both Whitsun Reef and Sandy Cay, where previously submerged features now sit permanently above the high-tide line."

The Chinese embassy in Manila has no statement on the report as of posting time.

While China previously reclaimed areas it claimed in the South China Sea, officials quoted by Bloomberg expressed alarm on its "unprecedented" new building activities on unoccupied features, warning that this a move to change the status quo and bolster its claim and control over the waters.

The South China Sea is a vital sea lane where oil and natural gas have been discovered in several areas.

China, which claims a huge swathe of the sea as part of its territory, beefed up its reclamation activities in other disputed areas in the past and transformed previously submerged features into artificial islands with multi-level buildings and runways. It has also installed surface-to-air missiles in these areas, triggering concerns from countries, such as the US, Japan and Australia.

China and the Association of South East Asian Nations signed in 2002 a Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea or DOC, which calls on claimants to exercise restraint and stop new occupation in the South China Sea.

However, its non-binding nature and lack of provision to sanction misbehaving claimants, renders the accord useless against aggression.

In 2013, the Philippines challenged China’s legal basis for its expansive claim before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands, and won the case in a landmark award in 2016 after the tribunal invalidated Beijing’s assertions.

China has ignored and belittled the ruling, maintaining “indisputable” and “historical” claim over nearly the entire waters even as it encroaches on the territories of its smaller neighbors like the Philippines. —KBK, GMA Integrated News