WASHINGTON—The United States does not want China to use its Navy to intimidate fishing vessels from other countries in a disputed area of the South China Sea, the US state department said.
“We are aware of these press reports regarding the Chinese vessels operating near Jackson Atoll in the contested areas of the South China Sea,” state department spokesperson Mark Toner said at a news briefing, referring to Quirino Atoll on the Philippine side of the Spratly archipelago.
“We don’t want them using … their Navy to intimidate other fishing vessels in that region,” Toner said.
Philippine officials reported that China had sent seven ships to Quirino Atoll in recent weeks, preventing Filipino fishermen from accessing traditional fishing grounds.
Eugenio Bito-onon Jr., mayor of Kalayaan town in the Spratlys, reported that he saw the Chinese ships while flying in a plane over the uninhabited Quirino Atoll last month.
Hong Lei, spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry, said the Chinese ships “persuaded fishing boats to leave the waters in an effort to ensure safety conditions for normal navigation.”
“I’m alarmed because we frequently pass by that atoll on our way to Pagasa,” Bito-onon said, referring to the island that serves as the seat of the municipal government of Kalayaan.
Pagasa is the only inhabited island in the Kalayaan group. It has a dilapidated airstrip, a five-bed lying-in clinic and a small elementary school.
Bito-onon said Philippine planes landing and taking off at Pagasa had been warned frequently to stay away by Chinese forces based at nearby Zamora (Subi) Reef, one of seven disputed reefs in the Spratlys that China has transformed into an artificial island. (Associated Press)