The Philippines expressed concern after spotting at least eight Chinese ships near the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea as world leaders gathered at the G-20 summit in China.
Philippines Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said Sunday that an air force plane saw four Chinese coast guard ships, two barge-like vessels, and what were believed to be two troop ships near the disputed shoal, according to AFP.
"The presence of so many ships, other than coast guard in the area is cause for grave concern," the defense secretary said on Sunday, as leaders from the world’s largest economies met in Hangzhou, China, for the G-20 summit on Sunday and Monday.
The Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs reached out to the Chinese ambassador, demanding an explanation for the increased ship presence in the region, Lorenzana said. The defense secretary said that any attempts by Beijing to construct on the disputed shoal would "have far reaching adverse effect on the security situation."
The increased presence of Chinese ships near the shoal comes almost two months after an international tribunal ruled against China’s claim over the disputed territory in a case brought by the Philippines, which also claims sovereignty over the shoal. A tribunal at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands, concluded in July that there is no historical basis for China’s claim of exclusive control over the shoal, a ruling that Beijing has rejected.
AFP reported on Sunday:
Lorenzana said that earlier this year, the Chinese tried to bring in dredging barges in an apparent attempt to turn Scarborough into an artificial island but were dissuaded by the United States ... President Rodrigo Duterte has said he intends to ask Beijing–possibly at a regional summit in Laos this week–if they are building up the shoal despite an international court ruling rejecting most of China’s claims in the resource-rich area. Duterte said Friday he had received an "unsettling" intelligence report showing China had sent barges to the contested Scarborough Shoal and had appeared to begin construction in the area for the first time.
China seized control of the shoal, which is positioned approximately 120 miles from the coast of the Philippines, in 2012. Earlier this year, before the ruling by the international tribunal, the South China Morning Post reported that China was planning to begin land reclamation on the disputed territory, with possible plans to add an airstrip there.
At a press briefing on Monday, a spokeswoman for China’s Foreign Ministry dismissed the reports of increased ship presence, saying that the "situation has not changed," the Washington Post reported.
China has made aggressive territorial claims in the South China Sea, building artificial islands there in defiance of warnings from the United States and other nations.