|
BEIJING: China has dispatched more civilian patrol boats to the
South China Sea, where tensions rose recently over a long-standing
territorial dispute, state press said Thursday.
At least six patrol vessels belonging to
provincial units of the Maritime Safety Bureau of China were sent to
the South China Sea in recent weeks, with several others being
prepared for departure, China Daily reported.
Some of the busiest international shipping lines
cut through the South China Sea, which is home to the disputed
Spratly and Paracel islands that are valued for potentially vast
mineral and oil deposits.
China announced last month that it had sent one
civilian patrol vessel to waters around the Spratlys, drawing
concern from the Philippines, one of the nations claiming
sovereignty over the area.
Recently renewed claims by nations over parts of
the Spratlys were one reason for China stepping up its presence in
the area, China Daily also reported.
The increased patrols also come after a near
collision last month between Chinese boats and a US naval
surveillance ship in international waters within China’s exclusive
economic zone off Hainan Island.
“This year could be the starting point of many
more disputes,” the paper quoted Zhou Zhonghai, a maritime law
expert at China University of Politics and Law, as saying.
“Strategies with a firm stance to protect
marine territories are of vital importance,” Zhou was further
quoted as saying.
He added that a United Nations effort this year
to chart maritime territory had led to a rise in tensions, as
nations hurry to submit claims and other legal documentations to the
international body.
Apart from China and the Philippines, the
Spratlys are claimed in whole or in part by Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan
and Vietnam.
-- AFP
|
