The Philippines has released footage showing its coast guard responding Wednesday to reports of “illegal swarming” by dozens of ships belonging to China‘s so-called Maritime Militia.
Newsweek reached out to the Chinese Foreign Ministry and the Philippine Coast Guard via email for comment.
Why It Matters
Alongside its powerful coast guard, analysts describe the Maritime Militia as another tool for China to assert its territorial claims, with the ships frequently deploying in the dozens and occupying contested waters for weeks at a time. Beijing claims the ships, dubbed “Little Blue Men” for their distinctive hulls, are crewed by patriotic fishermen.
Beijing claims sovereignty over more than 80 percent of the strategic South China Sea, through which an estimated $3 trillion in trade passes each year. These claims put China at odds with several neighbors, including the United States’ treaty ally, the Philippines, which has been pushing back against Chinese expansion within its exclusive economic zone.
What To Know
The Philippine coast guard dispatched two vessels and one aircraft “in response to reports of illegal swarming by Chinese Maritime Militia in Rozul Reef,” wrote the agency’s spokesperson, Jay Tarriela, in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday.
Rozul Reef is the Philippines’ name for Iroquois Reef, a feature located about 150 miles off the Philippines’ Palawan province and well within the country’s 200-nautical-mile (230-mile) exclusive economic zone.
The coast guard confirmed over 50 ships “both scattered and clustered together” around the reef, according to Tarriela.
The Philippine ships hailed the Chinese vessels, ordering them “to clarify their intentions, cease their swarming behaviors, and navigate in accordance with the Philippine Maritime Zones Act, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and the 2016 Arbitral Award,” he added.
The Chinese ships did not respond, according to the official. He said the Coast Guard then deployed rigid-hull inflatable boats, which approached the Chinese ships to record their bow numbers “to ensure accurate documentation of the situation.”
The Arbitral Award refers to the 2016 decision by an international arbitral tribunal in The Hague, which ruled in favor of the Philippines and largely dismissed China’s sweeping claims in the South China Sea.
Beijing chose not to participate in the proceedings and maintains that the award was politically motivated and invalid.
A record number of Maritime Militia ships were deployed to the South China Sea last year, according to satellite analysis published in February by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
What People Have Said
CSIS’s Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative: “But in contrast to recent years, a majority of ships spent most of their days anchored at China’s military outposts rather than at unoccupied reefs where they might pretend to fish.
“This suggests Chinese authorities are not pressuring vessel owners to maintain the crumbling facade of the militia as a legitimate fishing fleet, and as a result the vessels are prioritizing the easier resupply, safety, and comfort available when they are within the lagoons of China’s island bases.”
What Happens Next
China is almost certain to continue pressing its claims within the Philippines’ maritime zones, especially through its coast guard.
The smaller country is unlikely to back down, however, with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. last year vowing not to yield “even one inch.” The dispute with China has driven the Philippines to double down on its decades-long military modernization efforts and strengthen its security ties with the U.S. and regional middle powers such as Japan.
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