Row grows over disputed Spratly island

Philippine officials say illegal Chinese fishing boats are regular intruders

MANILA, Philippines -- A long-simmering feud between China and the Philippines is threatening to boil over again with both countries seeking to enforce their claims over a rocky outcrop lying within the disputed Spratly islands.

On Tuesday, China reprimanded the Philippines for taking action against Chinese fishermen found to have been poaching in the Scarborough shoal, a rocky island in the South China Sea claimed by both countries.

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Zhu Bangzao said Philippine forces had no right to board Chinese fishing boats operating around the island, which he said had "never been within the Philippine territory."

Zhu's statement came in reaction to an incident last week when a Philippine Navy patrol boarded Chinese fishing boats found to have been poaching near the island, confiscating their catch which reportedly included endangered giant clams and precious corals.

Philippine Navy officials say they also seized boxes of illegal fishing equipment such as electrical blasting caps, time fuses, dynamite sticks, and cyanide.

The incident prompted the Philippine government to file a diplomatic protest against China over what it says is the frequent incursion of Chinese fishing boats.

It said the continued poaching in the disputed territory was a "strong challenge to Philippine sovereignty."

The Philippine government has accused China of secretly building structures on the shoal following reports of frequent Chinese incursions.

Earlier this year, Philippine Navy personnel boarded four Chinese fishing vessels in the area and ordered the intruders to leave. A few months earlier a Chinese fisherman was shot dead in a confrontation in the area sparking diplomatic protest from Beijing.

Sovereignty patrol

Defending the Philippines' position last week, Vice President and Foreign Affairs Secretary Teofisto Guingona said the government would continue to exercise "sovereignty and jurisdiction over the area."

Six countries lay claim to some or all of the disputed Spratly Islands

The Philippine government is concerned that China may set up permanent structures on the shoal, similar to the fort-like structures it set up on Mischief Reef in 1995, another outcrop in the Spratlys contested by both countries.

Zhu countered that China has "sufficient historical and legal evidence" to prove that the Island has always been part of Chinese territory.

He said is surrounding waters had long been a traditional fishing ground for Chinese fishermen.

He refuted the Philippine claim based on the pretext of its "200-mile exclusive economic zone" and "geographical vicinity," saying such a claim can find "no support in international law".

Instead, Zhu urged the Philippine government to maintain stability in the South China Sea to the benefit of the Sino-Philippine friendship.

24-hour watch

Zhu also denied that the Chinese fishermen were making use of illegal fishing methods, saying that fishing activities of the fishermen in the area are "proper and normal."

He stressed that Chinese law prohibits in no uncertain terms fishing activities that are harmful to the marine environment and marine life protection, including the fishing of turtles and the collection of coral.

In response to the latest flare up the Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has ordered the Philippine Navy to conduct a 24-hour watch on the Scarborough shoal.

Navy vessels have been ordered to guard the reefs but are prohibited from making arrests in order to prevent diplomatic tension between China and the Philippines.

Arroyo has called on neighboring countries that also lay claim on the Scarborough shoal to adopt a "joint venture" system in order to intensify security within the area and protect it from future incursions by illegal poachers.

Although both China and the Philippines have said they will not allow the incident to strain their ties, neither government appears willing to give ground.

Incursions are frequent in the disputed territory as countries like China, Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam laid overlapping claims on the islands and their rich natural resources.

Around the islands are some of the world's richest fishing grounds, with massive reserves of oil and gas thought to be under the seabed.

The territory straddles strategically vital sea-lanes with around a quarter of the world's total shipping trade passing through the area every year.

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