Philippines Worries on Maritime Dispute in South China Sea
Philippines undersecretary for foreign affairs policy Evan Garcia says that tension with China over disputed islands in the South China Sea is the country's most pressing security concern, reports Radio Australia.
"We are focusing immediately on acquiring and building up our capabilities that we should have done before ... so we can protect what's ours," he said.
China claims most of the islands in the South China Sea, putting it at odds with other claimants like the Philippines and Vietnam, which are backed by the US.
The dispute has come to a head this week amid threat and counter-threat between the US and China as Beijing pledged to strengthen its naval defences.
Meanwhile, a report in the Straits Times-Asia News Network said that Philippines and the United States are putting up a defensive line meant to prevent China from punching through to the Pacific and threatening American military real estate in Guam.
The U.S. will be able to use at least eight military bases in the Philippines where it can rotate its troops, planes and ships, under a 10-year defense pact signed in April last year.
While rival claims over the South China Sea fishing grounds and shipping lanes go back centuries, China's intensifying land reclamation and island-building in the Spratly archipelago and other contested waters is an escalating global dispute.
China laid out its ambitions for a bigger naval presence far from its coasts last week, prompting concerns that Beijing will back up its claims to new territories by flexing its military muscle in one of the world's most strategic waterways.
