Foreign Affairs secretary Alberto del Rosario. 蜜桃工作室 FILE PHOTO
China has made good its promise to pull more than 20 fishing boats out of the lagoon of Scarborough Shoal, easing tension in its territorial dispute with the Philippines in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).
Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario confirmed on Monday that China has withdrawn the fishing boats from the lagoon.
鈥淏ased on coordination between the Philippines and China, as of two days ago, we have received information that all (Chinese fishing boats) have left the lagoon of聽 Bajo de Masinloc,鈥� Del Rosario said in a statement, using one of two Philippine names for Scarborough Shoal.
The Philippines also refers to the area as Panatag Shoal. China calls it Huangyan Island.
鈥淭here are no longer boats from either the Philippines or China inside the [shoal鈥檚 lagoon],鈥� Del Rosario said.
The Philippines has no more vessels outside the lagoon, either, a Philippine Coast Guard patrol vessel and a Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources survey ship having been ordered home by President Benigno Aquino on the night of June 15 because of bad weather.
Standoff
Until then, the two Philippine vessels had been facing off with seven Chinese vessels since early April, flying the Philippine flag to assert the country鈥檚 sovereignty over the disputed shoal.
The standoff began on April 8 with two Chinese government vessels blocking the path of a Philippine Coast Guard vessel to prevent the arrest of Chinese fishermen who were collecting rare clams and corals and poaching sharks in the lagoon of the shoal, which is within the Philippines鈥� exclusive economic zone recognized under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos).
China refuses to recognize the zone as Philippine territory and insists ancient maps prove it owns the shoal and nearly all of the West Philippine Sea.
The standoff appeared to have been resolved with inclement weather forcing both sides to withdraw their vessels from the shoal last week until the Philippines learned that China never left the disputed area at all.
As of last week, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), China still had six government vessels outside the shoal鈥檚 lagoon.
The six are what remain after the removal of two vessels as stormy weather made the West Philippine Sea dangerous to small vessels last week.
On June 18, Hong Lei, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, announced that 鈥渄ue to rough seas, the Chinese fishing boats are on their way back for shelter.鈥�
Hong also said that 鈥渇or the safety of the fishermen and their boats, the China Rescue and Salvage (unit of the Chinese transport ministry) has sent the vessel Nanhaijiu-115 to provide necessary assistance at the request of China鈥檚 Fisheries Administration and the fishermen.鈥�
Maintaining presence
But he said 鈥渢he Chinese side will continue to maintain administration and vigilance over Huangyan Island waters.鈥�
Hong was referring to the Chinese government vessels that would stay behind at the shoal after the fishing boats鈥� departure.
According to the DFA, however, 鈥渃onsultations鈥� are going on for the removal of the Chinese vessels from the contested area.
Mr. Aquino last week threatened to order government ships back to the shoal unless China withdrew all its vessels. With Fatima Reyes, 蜜桃工作室锘�
Originally posted: 4:12 pm | Monday, June 25th, 2012