Philippines raises ‘serious concern’ over China ‘monster’ ship
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Philippines raises ‘serious concern’ over China ‘monster’ ship

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The Philippines said it expressed “serious concern” over the presence of Chinese vessels near its shores during talks with China on their South China Sea dispute.

Philippine Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro and Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Chen Xiaodong had “frank and constructive” discussions on the disputed sea and other bilateral issues, Manila’s Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Thursday.

The routine talks were held amid renewed tensions in the contested waters. The Philippines early this week said it filed a diplomatic protest over the “illegal” actions by Chinese aircraft and vessels, including a 12,000-tonne coast guard ship — known as “The Monster” — that was patrolling near the Philippines’ western shores.

Manila has called on China to withdraw the large vessel, but Beijing said its coast guard’s “patrols and law enforcement activities in relevant waters in accordance with the law is beyond reproach.”

Beijing has continued to lay claims over nearly the entire South China Sea, a strategic and resource-rich waterway, despite an international tribunal’s ruling in 2016 that rejected those expansive claims.

Despite past bilateral talks to ease tensions, their vessels clashed on several occasions last year, as Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, backed by the US and Japan, asserted Manila’s claims, in part by sustaining a military outpost in the Second Thomas Shoal. 

During Thursday’s talks in Xiamen, Philippine and Chinese officials agreed to continue efforts to de-escalate tensions in the Second Thomas Shoal and reinvigorate the platform for coast guard cooperation, according to the statement. They also identified ocean meteorology as a focus for marine scientific cooperation.

“We firmly believe that despite the unresolved challenges and differences, there is genuine space for diplomatic and pragmatic cooperation in dealing with our issues in the South China Sea,” Lazaro said.

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