A
shoal too far in South China
Sea By George Amurao
Another maritime incident between China
and the Philippines in the South China Sea has
tested the region's tenuous calm. On the evening
of July 11, China's People's Liberation Army Navy
(PLAN) missile frigate Dongguan ran aground
on Half Moon Shoal, a contested maritime territory
a mere 60 nautical miles from the Philippine
island of Palawan.
The incident was not
initially publicized by either side but its later
disclosure has raised new questions about China's
naval intentions and capabilities in the area less
- than a month after both sides backed away from a
two-month stand-off over another contested shoal
in the same island chain.
Philippine Navy
officials later said two of their patrol vessels
and a reconnassiance aircraft confirmed the
presence of the Chinese naval ship on the
contested shoal. Beijing acknowledged that
salvage operations were
underway to dislodge the warship, which was
eventually sprung free on July 16 with minor
damage to its stern.
Half Moon Shoal is
part of the Spratly Islands, which with the rest
of the South China Sea are claimed by Beijing as
part of its sovereign territory. The Philippines
also claims the Half Moon Shoal, which it refers
to as Hasa-Hasa, along with several other islets,
reefs and other shoals in the island chain as part
of its internationally defined exclusive economic
zone (EEZ).
Chinese boats, often escorted
by paramilitary vessels or naval warships, have
long fished the waters included in the
Philippines' EEZ. Though there have been previous
incidents in the area involving Philippine fishing
boats and Chinese warships, this is the first time
that a Chinese naval vessel, ostensibly on a
patrol, has been stranded so close to Philippine
territorial waters.
The incident caused a
new stir among many nationalistic Philippine
observers, including those galvanized by the sense
Beijing is bullying its smaller neighbors in the
wake of the recent stand-off over the contested
Scarborough Shoal. Harry Roque, director of the
University of the Philippines' Institute of
International Legal Studies, said in a statement
that "foreign naval vessels, particularly in
disputed territory, have no business patrolling"
in another country's EEZ.
The
Dongguan, a Jianghu-V class missile
frigate, was armed with twin 100mm main gun
turrets, 37mm Close-in Weapons Systems (CIWS)
mounts, and YJ-83 Eagle Strike missiles that are
China's counterpart to the American Harpoon and
French Exocet anti-ship missiles. These new
missiles, which have replaced China's previous
Silkworms, have a range of 255 kilometers, putting
major Philippine cities in their range. The
grounded ship is also equipped with air/surface
search and fire control radars.
Philippine
Navy officials identified it as the same ship that
last year harassed several Philippine fishing
boats in the area. The Dongguan confronted
three Philippine fishing vessels in Jackson Atoll
(known by Manila as Quirino Atoll) on February 25,
2011. After issuing a warning over a marine band
radio, two of the fishing boats left the area but
one had trouble raising its anchor and asked the
Chinese frigate for more time. In response, the
Dongguan fired three times, landing shells
less than a nautical mile from the unarmed fishing
boat.
Philippine social media were abuzz
about the warship's presence so close to
Philippine territory, with some suggesting a
conspiracy to leave the beached frigate in place
to create an outpost. President Benigno Aquino was
urged to confront China. Cooler heads prevailed,
however, as Philippine vessels stood watch while
Chinese ships worked to extricate their sister
ship from the shoal.
The Philippines had
earlier extended traditional maritime courtesy by
offering assistance in the rescue operation but
apparently was rebuffed. In the aftermath, Manila
said it will not lodge a diplomatic protest with
Beijing over the incident but instead would ask
Beijing for an explanation of the ship's presence.
The incident coincided with the
Philippines' inability to convince Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members to mention
the Scarborough stand-off in a joint communique at
last week's ministerial meeting. Cambodia, a close
China ally, was said to have blocked any mention
of the incident in 18 different proposed drafts of
the communique. For the first time in the
grouping's 45-year history, no joint statement was
issued after the meeting.
Room for
error Manila cannot afford to challenge
China's superior naval firepower alone, even
though President Aquino's administration is
upgrading the armed forces' territorial defense
capabilities. The Navy's World War II-era flagship
was replaced only last year by a 40-year-old
refurbished US Coast Guard cutter, with a sister
ship on the way. The government is also reportedly
looking at used naval vessels now on sale in
Italy.
On the diplomatic front, Manila has
yet to receive a solid United States commitment to
supports its South China Sea claims under their
1951 Mutual Defense Treaty, which binds each party
to defend the other in case of an attack by a
third party. Despite a recent Aquino visit to
Washington, the US has sidestepped the issue of
announcing its full military support for the
Philippines' claims to the potentially oil and gas
rich area.
At the height of the recent
standoff over Scarborough Shoal, the US repeatedly
stated the importance of the South China Sea as a
vital international sealane and its belief that
peaceful efforts should be made to resolve the
competing maritime claims. Brunei, Indonesia,
Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam also have competing
claims to the Spratly Islands.
The US has,
however, offered support to the Philippines in the
area of maritime surveillance, recently pledging
to help enhance Manila's Coast Watch Center by
upgrading its radar facilities. Aquino has also
requested the US to provide maritime intelligence
in the Spartlys through the US Navy's P3-C Orion
surveillance planes.
The
Commander-in-Chief of the US Navy's Pacific
Command, Adm Samuel Locklear III, arrived in
Manila on July 16 and met Aquino and senior
defense and foreign affairs officials to discuss
the situation in the Spratlys and US assistance to
help Manila establish a "minimum credible defense
posture".
At the same time, the Half Moon
Shoal incident suggests that China's improving
navy is perhaps not as mighty or well-managed as
touted. A retired Philippine Navy admiral
interviewed by journalist and blogger Raissa
Robles said, the Dongguan's captain "was
negligent of his duties ... These ships now have
depth perception. [They] use satellites. They
should be able to determine through the satellite
where the reefs are."
The Dongguan
belongs to a class of ships designed to navigate
the South China Sea's myriad tight clusters of
reefs, atolls and islets. Though the Dongguan had
recently undergone refurbishment, it is notable
that sister ships in its class, including export
versions sold to Bangladesh, Egypt, Myanmar and
Thailand, have historically received negative
feedback from buyers. "Apparently, these
frigates proved less than impressive to the Thai
Navy. The quality of workmanship of the frigate
was said to be inferior, and considerable rework
was needed to bring the vessels up to acceptable
standards," Globalsecurity.org, an independent
news website, reported.
"The ability of
the ships to resist battle damage was extremely
limited, and damage control facilities were
virtually non-existent. Fire-suppression systems
were rudimentary, and it appeared that were the
hull breached, rapid flooding would quickly lead
to the loss of the ship," the report said.
According to Kuala Lumpur-based defense
analyst Dzirhan Mahadzir, "Running aground and
collisions are the most serious offense next to
losing a ship, in most navies. However, the degree
of punishment or culpability of the captain varies
between navies." Another strategic analyst
noted that such an incident is typically "a career
breaker, if not sufficient grounds for court
martial".
Shanghai-based military analyst
Ni Lexiong was quoted in a South China Morning
Post report saying, "It affects people's
confidence in the capability of the navy. The
accident indicates that the technology of Chinese
navy vessels and the ocean combat capability of
the navy may not be sophisticated enough."
If so, China's rising deployment of
heavily armed naval ships and harassment of other
claimants' civilian vessels in the area risks
future miscalculations, human and technical errors
that carry the perilous potential to trigger armed
conflict and destabilize further a region already
on edge.
George Amurao, a former
journalist in Manila, until recently worked for
the Southeast Asian Press Alliance. He is now with
Mahidol University International College in
Bangkok, Thailand.
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