MANILA: The Philippines has positioned navigational buoys within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) to establish sovereignty over the contested Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, a coast guard spokeswoman said on Sunday.
The move coincides with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s efforts to forge closer relations with the United States amidst China’s escalating military assertiveness in the South China Sea.
The Whitsun Reef, where hundreds of Chinese ships were parked in 2021, was one of five locations inside the 200-mile (322-km) zone where the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) claimed to have erected up five buoys flying the national flag between May 10 and May 12.
Commodore Jay Tarriela, the coast guard’s spokeswoman on the South China Sea issues, said on Twitter that “this action highlights the Philippines’ unwavering resolve to protect its territorial waters and resources and contribute to the safety of maritime trade.”
The Chinese embassy in Manila did not immediately answer a request for comment by Reuters.
The coast guard erected five nautical buoys on four Spratly Islands in May 2022.
In 2016, an international arbitration rejected China’s assertion of sovereignty over nearly the entire South China Sea.
In the Spratlys, where China has excavated sand to create islands on reefs and outfitted them with missiles and runways, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam also have claims.
For years, Beijing has stationed hundreds of fishing and coast guard boats in contested territories.
