MANILA, April 21 (Reuters) - The Philippines is beefing up
its presence in the South China Sea and deploying more ships and
an aircraft to protect its maritime territory and resources, a
government task force said on Wednesday.
The Philippines has ramped up its rhetoric in recent weeks
in defiance of what it says is threatening behaviour by Chinese
vessels in its 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), despite
four years of rapprochement with historic rival China.
"We are exhausting all means possible to protect our
territory and EEZ," the Philippines' South China Sea task force
said in a statement.
The deployment is the latest move in an ongoing feud with
China over what Manila called "swarming" by hundreds of fishing
vessels it said were manned by Chinese state-backed militias.
China has denied militias were aboard.
President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered authorities to
continue "sovereignty patrols", and intensify operations against
illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in its territorial
waters, the task force said.
Nine vessels from the coastguard and the fisheries bureau, a
coastguard aircraft and police watercraft and rubber boats were
being deployed in the South China Sea, including in waters off
Philippine-held islands in the Spratlys, the task force said.
U.S.-ally the Philippines has filed several diplomatic
protests over Chinese activities in the South China Sea, with
the latest accusing its giant neighbour of illegal fishing and
massing more than 240 boats within its EEZ. The challenge puts the spotlight on Duterte's controversial
pursuit of better relations and economic ties with China.
The firebrand leader said on Monday he was prepared to
deploy navy ships to assert the Philippines' sovereign rights to
oil and mineral resources in its EEZ, telling China that if it
started drilling for oil, so will he. China claims almost the South China Sea, where about $3
trillion worth of ship-borne trade passes each year. Brunei,
Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims.