Philippine activity on Ren'ai Reef draws Chinese caution

Chinese navy and marine surveillance forces are closely monitoring activities conducted by the Philippines on a vessel stranded on the Ren'ai Reef in the South China Sea, a source close to the matter told the Global Times.

The Philippines filed a protest with the Chinese embassy in Manila Tuesday that the recent presence of a Chinese warship and two marine surveillance vessels near the reef was "illegal and proactive."

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei responded Wednesday that the Ren'ai Reef is part of China's Nansha Islands, and that China has indisputable sovereignty over them and their adjacent waters, adding that Chinese ships are entitled to regularly patrol there.

The Philippines sent three military vessels on May 9 after spotting the Chinese ships.

The source also told the Global Times that the Philippine vessels carried a large amount of construction materials to repair a worn-out warship that has been stranded there since May 9, 1999 due to an alleged leak at the bottom, adding that the country has been sending garrison soldiers to gain de facto control to the reef and refused to withdraw the ship.

"The ship has been sinking and deteriorating rapidly this year, the Philippines have been trying to fix it to reinforce their control," said the source, adding that the Chinese military is patrolling to prevent further moves.

The Xinhua News Agency earlier reported that a sea-air patrol to the reef was conducted in March.

Zhu Zhenming, a researcher with the Institute of South East Asian Studies at Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that the Philippines' tougher attitude over the South China Sea dispute indicates that it felt it had the backing of big powers including the US and Japan.

"Philippine President Benigno Aquino has formed a heroic image and won domestic support by acting tough against China. The economic growth in the past few years also earned him more confidence but the Philippines' military power is still small," said Zhu.

Aquino announced Tuesday he would allocate $1.8 billion to upgrade the country's maritime defense, vowing to protect Philippine sovereignty and resist bullies.