AFTER losing some ground in the just-concluded summit of the Association of South East Asian Nations, China lashed back at the Philippines and said Manila was the first to build an airport in the Spratlys.
But observers at the Department of Foreign Affairs said spokesman Charles Jose might have said a mouthful when he countered Beijing’s claim by saying said in a press briefing: “We’re not even doing anything with our airports here, what more in the Spratlys?”
Jose meant that Manila has already an existing airport on Pag-asa Island which was constructed prior to the Declaration of Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea in 2002.
“Anything you do after that is already a violation,” Jose said of the Chinese reclamation activities.
Pag-asa island is located 480 kilometers off southwestern Palawan, is the largest occupied by the Philippines, and the second largest island in the whole of Spratlys. It is the only Philippine-occupied island in the Spratlys that is inhabited by civilians, a population of about 200, Jose said.
“One thing that we have to determine are the dates when these reclamation activities have taken place,” Jose said.
“What we want to do is undertake some repairs and maintenance of the existing runway. But the Chinese claimed we are ‘building in the area.’ We’re not even doing something with our airports here what more in the Spratlys?” Jose said.
Manila International Airport Authority spokesperson Connie Bungag declined to comment on Jose’s statement saying nothing is being done to repair the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei had earlier said the Philippines and Vietnam are building airports on Chinese territories.
“For a long time, the Philippines, Vietnam and other countries have been carrying out reclamations on the Chinese islands they are illegally occupying in the Nansha Islands, building airports and other fixed infrastructure, even deploying missiles and other military equipment,” Lei said.
Jose said China is just trying to deflect international criticism over their reclamation activities in the South China Sea and West Philippine Sea.
Jose reiterated that China’s reclamation works violate the ASEAN-China agreement since most of its activities started after 2002.
The summit of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), which concluded in Malaysia, was dominated by rising tensions in the South China Sea fuelled by territorial disputes with China.
Four ASEAN countries—the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei—have disputes with China over portions of the Paracel and Spratly island groups in the South China Sea.