200 Chinese Fishing Vessels Illegally Occupy Coral Reefs in Philippine EEZ
China Responds to US Carrier Deployment in South China Sea with Carrier Show of Force
US, Japan, and France to Conduct Joint Military Exercises in Kyushu Next Month...Tensions Rise
[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] The Quad, a military consultative group of four Asia-Pacific countries including the United States, Japan, India, and Australia, along with France, has commenced military exercises in the Bay of Bengal region near India. This move is interpreted as a countermeasure against China’s recent obstinacy in illegally occupying coral reefs around the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea within the Philippines' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) by deploying fishing vessels. As the U.S. and China each dispatch aircraft carrier strike groups to the South China Sea for shows of force, tensions surrounding the South China Sea are escalating significantly with plans for joint exercises next month involving the U.S., Japan, and French navies around Kyushu, Japan.
According to foreign media including Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post (SCMP) on the 5th (local time), the four Quad member countries and the French navy are conducting joint military exercises in the waters off the Bay of Bengal until the 7th. This joint exercise follows the first Quad summit held via video conference on the 12th of last month. This is the first time the four Quad countries and France, a European military power, have initiated joint exercises. Separately, it has been reported that next month the U.S., Japan, and French navies plan to conduct joint exercises around Kyushu, Japan, further heightening military tensions in the South China Sea region.
The U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier has also been separately dispatched to the South China Sea. According to Hong Kong’s Apple Daily, the South China Sea Strategic Posture Initiative (SCSPI), a think tank affiliated with Peking University, announced that at around 8 a.m. the previous day, the U.S. Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt entered the South China Sea. In response, China’s aircraft carrier Liaoning strike group appeared on the 4th near the Miyako Strait south of Okinawa, conducting a show of force.
The show of force between China and the West has intensified recently as China illegally occupies coral reefs within the Philippine EEZ. Earlier, the Philippine government officially demanded the immediate withdrawal of over 200 Chinese vessels gathered around the Whitsun Reef, part of the Spratly Islands within its EEZ. On the previous day, Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana strongly criticized China in a statement, saying, "China is deploying maritime militias to expand its occupied areas in the western Philippine waters."
Since the 22nd of last month, over 200 Chinese fishing vessels have been illegally anchored at coral reefs within the Philippine EEZ for two weeks. The Chinese Embassy in Manila claimed, "These vessels are merely fishing boats seeking shelter from storms by anchoring near the reefs," and argued, "This is perfectly normal, and no one has the right to criticize such actions."
However, the Philippine government insists that these vessels are not fishing boats. Regarding China’s claim, Secretary Lorenzana stated, "We are not fools. The weather has improved, so there is no reason for the Chinese vessels to remain there any longer," emphasizing, "The Chinese ships are not engaged in any fishing activities, and it would be extremely costly for so many vessels to remain anchored at the reefs for an extended period. If they were fishing boats, they could not stay there that long."
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