New hot spot boils in the South China Sea
China is bidding to block Philippine efforts to repair strategic facilities on contested Thitu Island, putting the two rival claimants on a new collision course
ByRichard Javad Heydarian, Manila
When Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Manila last November with multi-billion dollar promises of new aid and investment, many thought bilateral relations were set to reach new heights.
Less than three months later, relations are under extraordinary new strain as tensions spiral in the South China Sea over Manila’s plans to refurbish long-neglected facilities on its claimed Thitu Island, the second largest naturally formed land feature in the contested maritime area.
According to The Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI), a unit of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, “a handful of Chinese vessels†have swarmed Thitu Island since last July to block the Philippines’ repair operations. The number of Chinese ship has increased to around 100 in recent months, the ATMI report said.
https://www.asiatimes.com/2019/02/article/new-hot-spot-boils-in-the-south-china-sea/
