China conducted comprehensive aerial and naval combat maneuvers on Wednesday surrounding the disputed Scarborough Shoal an uninhabited expanse of reefs and rocky outcrops it had appropriated from the Philippines within the South China Sea. China on Sunday, formalized the publication of new baselines for the shoal which includes geographic coordinates, serving as the foundational reference for defining territorial waters and exclusive economic zones in accordance with the international laws.
In recent times, tensions between China and Phillipines have been escalating reflecting their competing territorial assertions over Scarborough Shoal and various other maritime outcrops in the South China Sea. These hostilities have manifested in confrontational incidents, notably the Chinese coast guard deploying water cannons against Filipino vessels.
“This operation constitutes a lawful patrol and sentinel mission executed by the theatre forces”, remarked the Southern Command of the People’s Liberation Army in a communique.
The shoal which is situated to the west of Luzon-the principal island of the Phillipines, was seized by China in 2012., subsequently restricting Filipino fishermen to access the territory.Despite a 2016 adjudication by an international arbitration tribunal invalidating the majority of Beijing’s expansive territorial assertions in the South China Sea, China has persistently repudiated compliance with the ruling.
The department of Foreign Affairs, Phillipines officially summoned the Chinese Ambassador based at Manila to protest China’s baselines around Scarborough Shoal . The department further expressed its disapproval of China’s expansionist tendencies & remarked that such baselines infringe upon the sovereign rights of the Phillipines and are in violation of established International statutes, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 and the landmark 2016 arbitral ruling are notable in this regard. It further emphasized that these baselines lack legitimate legal foundation and hold no binding authority over the Philippines.
Phillipine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. approved two parliamentary bills last week reaffirming the delineation of the nation’s maritime boundaries and its entitlement to marine resources, including those within contested areas of the South China Sea. This legislative maneuver however sparked angered reactions from Beijing. Manila says the laws aim to reinforce Manila’s entitlement and responsibility within its maritime zones which it refers to as the West Philippines Sea. China’s expansive maritime claims which includes almost the entire sea overlap on which maritime assertions have been exercised by countries like Vietnam,Indonesia, the Phillipines and other regional claimants . Beijing and Manila have been entrenched in an escalating standoff over the past few months, as China continues asserting expansive claims.
In the preceding month, the United States announced its commitment to an additional $500 million in military assistance to the Philippines,which was aimed at countering the heightening assertiveness reflected by Beijing within the region .For decades, the United States military has strategically positioned naval vessels and deployed fighter aircraft as part of its proclaimed operations for safeguarding freedom of navigation and conducting nocturnal patrols.
