The Philippines condemned the interference of China's largest coast guard ship in its territorial waters

Philippines Condemned this Saturday as an important ship China Coast Guard Entering its waters a “Infiltrate Patrol”. Officials said the ship was a prototype CCG 5901that is, This category is the largest in the world, and the length is about 165 meters. Also, it displaces and equips 12,000 tons Heavy machine gunsA Heliport And a hangar with capacity Helicopters.

These maneuvers were carried out in conjunction with other model ships CCG 5203102 meters long.

The incursion comes amid latent tensions with Beijing in these waters — mainly in the region Scarborough Bank or under Masinloc – after Xi Jinping ordered it, forcing Manila to establish a new observation post to improve security in the area and prevent China from escalating its maneuvers. Two days Military exercises In neighboring Taiwan.

This week, after the President's inauguration Lai Singh-TeThe Chinese Communist Party rejected his speeches Freedom tone In it he argued for security Democracy and mobilized more than fifty warplanes and dozens of ships to the vicinity of the island. These actions sought to test the military's offensive capabilities and, in turn, force the Taiwanese to concede their claim to control of the territory.

Like Philippine President Lai, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, and recently raised his voice and vowed not to hesitate to defend his country against threats from the other side of the South Sea. “As for that Infiltrators who do not respect our territorial integrity, We will fiercely protect what is ours But our behavior will always be guided by rules and responsibility,” he said during a public event. He said they were facing off, though he avoided mentioning China, his main rival, overtly at the moment. A blatant attack on international norms and principles So, he called his forces to work Protect “Peace and Democracy”. He further assured the people that “we are prepared and flexible to defeat threats to harm our people”.

For years, Manila and Beijing have had disputes over certain areas Spratly IslandsAmong them the The second was Thomas Attall -or Ayung's sandbank- and Scarborough. In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague failure In favor of the Philippines In award of the latter's sovereignty as international law deems it within its exclusive economic zone as it lies less than 200 miles from the island of Luzon.

However, Beijing has refused to accept this, citing historical reasons as to why it maintains the right to almost complete control over the vast resource-rich sea, which represents a vital link in the global trade chain. Adding to this was the hardening of Philippine politics with the accession of Marcos Jr. to the presidency nearly two years earlier, as well as his closeness to the United States.

(with information from Europa Press)