A Philippine Coast Guard personnel looks through a binocular while conducting a resupply mission for Filipino troops stationed at a grounded warship in the South China Sea. File
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

The Philippines said on Saturday it has deployed ships to a disputed area in the South China Sea, where it accused China of building “an artificial island” in an escalating maritime row.

The coast guard sent a ship “to monitor the supposed illegal activities of China, creating ‘an artificial island’,” the office of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said in a statement, adding two other vessels were in rotational deployment in the area.

Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela told a forum there had been “small-scale reclamation” of the Sabina Shoal, which Manila calls Escoda, and that China was “the most probable actor”.

The Chinese embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Philippine assertions, which could deepen the bilateral rift.

The Philippine national security adviser called on Friday for expelling Chinese diplomats over an alleged leak of a phone conversation with a Filipino admiral about the maritime dispute.

Beijing and Manila have been embroiled for a year in heated stand-offs over their competing claims in the South China Sea, where $3 trillion worth of trade passes annually.

China claims almost all of the vital waterway, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam. The Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled in 2016 that Beijing’s claims had no basis under international law.

China has carried out extensive land reclamation on some islands in the South China Sea, building air force and other military facilities, causing concern in Washington and around the region.

A Philippine vessel has been anchored at the Sabina Shoal to “catch and document the dumping of crushed corals over the sandbars”, Tarriela said, citing the “alarming” presence of dozens of Chinese ships, including research and navy vessels.

Tarriela said the presence of Chinese vessels at the atoll 124 miles (200 km) from the Philippine province of Palawan coincided with the coast guard’s discovery of piles of dead and crushed coral.

The coast guard will take marine scientists to the areas to determine whether the coral piles were a natural occurrence or caused by human intervention, he said.

He added it intends to have a “prolonged presence” at Sabina Shoal, a rendezvous point for Philippine vessels carrying out resupply missions to Filipino troops stationed on a grounded warship at the Second Thomas Shoal, where Manila and China have had frequent maritime run-ins.

Chinese Coast Guard vessels fire water cannons towards a Philippine resupply vessel Unaizah on May 4 as it made its way to the Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea, March 5, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

The Philippines’ national security adviser called on May 10 for Chinese diplomats to be expelled over an alleged leak of a phone conversation with a Filipino admiral, in a significant escalation of a bitter row over the South China Sea.

China’s embassy in Manila had orchestrated “repeated acts of engaging and dissemination of disinformation, misinformation and malinformation”, with the objective of sowing discord, division and disunity, Eduardo Ano said in a statement.

Those actions “should not be allowed to pass unsanctioned without serious penalty”, he said.

China’s embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the call to expel diplomats. The office of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and the foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The two countries have been embroiled in a series of heated standoffs this past year in disputed areas of the South China Sea as the Philippines, emboldened by support from the United States and other allies, steps up activities in waters patrolled by China’s coast guard.

China has accused the Philippines of trespassing and of treachery, while Manila has scolded Beijing for what it says is a policy of aggression and dangerous manoeuvring.

The expelling of diplomats could intensify a row that has so far seen heated exchanges, diplomatic protests and the ramming and water-cannoning of Philippine ships at two disputed shoals in the South China Sea.

Mr. Ano was referring to a news report this week of an alleged leak of a call between a Chinese diplomat and a Filipino admiral discussing a dispute over the South China Sea, which carried a transcript that showed the admiral agreeing to concessions with China.

According to the transcript published by the Manila Times, a Philippine admiral had agreed to China’s proposal of a “new model”, where the Philippines would use fewer vessels in resupply missions to troops at the Second Thomas Shoal, and notify Beijing about missions in advance.

Reuters has not heard the reported phone conversation and could not verify the contents of the published transcript. The report said the conversation had taken place in January and the transcript was provided by a “ranking Chinese official”, which it did not name.

Interference Operations

Mr. Ano said he backed the defence minister’s call for the foreign ministry to take appropriate action against embassy officials, who he said claimed to have recorded an alleged phone conversation in violation of Philippine laws, including its anti-wire tapping act, as well as serious breaches of diplomatic protocols.

“Those individuals in the Chinese embassy … and those responsible for these malign influence and interference operations must be removed from the country immediately,” he said.

China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on May 8 the embassy in Manila had released details about “relevant communications” between the two countries on managing the situation at the disputed Second Thomas Shoal, where the Philippines has for stations troops at a grounded warship.

Mr. Jian did not elaborate on what details or communications were released, but said “facts are clear and backed by hard evidence that cannot be denied.”

“The Philippines has insisted on denying these objective facts and seeks to mislead the international community,” Mr. Jian added.

China has long been vexed by the Philippines’ stationing of a small group of marines at the Second Thomas Shoal aboard a warship that it intentionally grounded 25 years ago.

Beijing has repeatedly said the Philippines had agreed to tow that ship away, which Manila has rejected.