MALACAÑANG is unfazed by reports China is building new runways in reclaimed artificial islands it occupied in Philippine territory.
Communications Secretary Herminio B. Coloma Jr. made the assurance on Sunday amid fears over looming threats to commerce that passes through the West Philippine Sea.
“Government is determined to assert the importance of freedom of navigation and overflight in the West Philippine Sea or South China Sea,” Coloma said over state-run Radyo ng Bayan.
The Palace official pointed out that the Department of Foreign Affairs had earlier lodged “a diplomatic protest regarding the test flights made on reefs also claimed by the Philippines, particularly at the Kagitingan Reef, which is well within our exclusive economic zone.”
Coloma complained that China’s construction of “the additional runways contributes to heightened tensions in the region.”
“We reiterate that these actions by China violate not only pertinent international laws but also the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, of which China is a signatory, along with the member countries of Asean,” the secretary added.
He aired the protest in the wake of reports quoting Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, a US think tank funded by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, which confirmed satellite images showing China’s building frenzy in the West Philippines Sea territories.