Scarborough buoys not for reclamation — NMC

By Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio, Reporter

THE PHILIPPINES does not see China’s buoy placements at Scarborough Shoal as a precursor to island-building, but has prepared a flurry of responses if such activities happen, its maritime council spokesman said on Thursday.

National Maritime Council (NMC) spokesman Alexander S. Lopez said authorities were monitoring developments in the hotly contested feature on a “day-to-day basis,” adding that there would be no letup in efforts to prevent reclamation activities.

“There’s no reclamation activity and we are closely monitoring it,” he told BusinessWorld on the sidelines of a security forum in Manila. “If ever there will be, we will come up with the appropriate actions to it.”

“But definitely, we will go through peaceful means,” he added, saying the government prefers to handle tensions at the shoal and other features in the South China Sea diplomatically but is not shying away from responding militarily. He did not elaborate.

Scarborough, named Panatag by Manila and called Huangyan Dao by China, has been at the center of renewed tensions between the countries that lay competing claims over features in the South China Sea, where trillions of dollars worth of trade passes through annually.

The shoal is a vast fishing lagoon that lies within the Philippines’ 200-nautical-mile (370 kilometers) exclusive economic zone and was seized by China in 2012 after a standoff with Philippine forces.

In September, China approved the creation of a 3,500-hectare reserve at the northeast rim of the shoal, which it said is intended to preserve the ecological diversity of one of the most contested areas in the strategic waterway.

A Philippine maritime surveillance mission last month spotted buoys at the center and northern tip of the maritime feature, saying their findings could indicate “ongoing activities.”

“The two buoys installed at Scarborough are of different sizes and designs,” the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) said in a report on Wednesday, noting that the buoy north of the feature is larger and resembles those found in the Yellow Sea by the South Korean Navy in June.

Satellite imagery showed that the northern buoy looks like a “standardized” 10-meter ocean environment monitoring buoy, AMTI said. “This design is among the ‘most widely used, oldest, most technologically mature’ types of buoys used in China’s coastal waters.”

It added that the buoy spotted in Scarborough’s center resembles 3-meter Chinese weather and sea monitoring buoys.

“Each type of buoy seen at Scarborough is produced by multiple manufacturers in China and can be outfitted with instruments for collecting a wide variety of marine data,” AMTI said, noting that the deployed buoys could be used to monitor waves, air pressure, temperature, wind speed and humidity.

Mr. Lopez acknowledged the Chinese buoys could have military purposes. “They can be for dual use,” he said, but noted they could help guide ships through the shoal’s rocky underwater terrain.

AMTI said China’s deployment of buoys at the feature could be part of efforts “to formalize Chinese control over the feature.” “More worryingly, it is a step toward physically occupying Scarborough.”

The Chinese Embassy in Manila did not immediately reply to a Viber message seeking comment.

“We don’t see the presence of the buoys as a prelude to any reclamation,” Mr. Lopez said. “The buoys are aids to navigation.”

Security experts earlier told BusinessWorld China might be preparing for island-building at Scarborough, warning that the spotted buoys and Beijing’s nature reserve plan could be used as cover for land reclamation.

“With regard to reclamation, I think that there’s no basis for it yet,” Mr. Lopez said.

Also on Thursday, Manila’s Defense department said Defense Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro, Jr. met with US General John Daniel Caine on Wednesday at the Philippine military’s headquarters, where they discussed ways to enhance military engagements.

Mr. Caine, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Mr. Teodoro “discussed the progress of alliance initiatives and explored ways to further operationalize bilateral and multilateral defense cooperation,” the agency said in a statement.

The Philippines and the US are close allies, with their partnership anchored on a 1950s treaty binding both to defend one another in case of an armed attack. Their alliance has flourished in recent years, with joint military drills becoming more complex and involving advanced weapon systems.

“Discussions covered expanding interoperability between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and US military forces, strengthening information-sharing mechanisms and enhancing joint humanitarian assistance and disaster response operations,” the Defense department said.