Philippines urges China to show respect

The Philippines accused China yesterday of ramming Filipino fishing boats off a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, and demanded its powerful neighbour respect its sovereignty over the potential flashpoint territory.

The foreign ministry said it has sent two notes of protest over the January 29 incident off Scarborough Shoal as well as the removal of critically endangered giant clams by Chinese fishermen in the area a week earlier.

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman disputed Manila's version of the first incident yesterday, stressing its coast guard was performing its "normal" duties on Chinese territory.

"The Philippines continues to urge China to respect the Philippines' sovereign rights and jurisdiction over Bajo de Masinloc," Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario told AFP yesterday, referring to the shoal by its local name.

The ministry alleged three Filipino-flagged vessels were "intentionally rammed" by a vessel with Chinese coastguard markings, causing damage and endangering the crews' lives.

"The Huangyan island is an inherent part of Chinese territory," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said yesterday, calling the shoal by its Chinese name.

A coast guard dinghy was sent to relay orders, "and some of the boats bumped slightly into each other", said Hong.

"The Chinese side urged the Philippine side to enhance supervision and education of its own fishermen to prevent similar incidents from happening again."