Manila: The Philippines and China got into a fresh diplomatic entangle as Manila refused China's demand to move a Philippine-registered ship, carrying nine French archaeologists, salvaging a shipwreck near Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, officials said.
Chinese vessels and aircraft must "cease the harassment so that the crew of the vessel [MV Saranggani] can complete its work," said the Philippine government.
"Any attempted action by Chinese ships or aircraft against the ship will be considered by the Philippines as a violation of its national as well as international law," the Philippines government added.
Earlier, Philippine officials claimed that two Chinese ships and an aircraft harassed MV Saranggani on Saturday.
In response, the Chinese government said, "In accordance with relevant international conventions and Chinese laws, it is illegal to conduct salvage activities without the permission of the Chinese government [near the Scarborough Shoal, located 240km west of Subic Bay in central Luzon]."
"We urge the [Philippines] archaeological vessel to leave the area immediately … it was found in the lagoon conducting salvage archaeology … There is indeed an ancient wrecked ship in Huangyan [Scarborough] island area," China observed, adding, "these activities by the Philippine side raised further concerns of the Chinese side on the situation there."
Both parties believe that the withdrawal of their respective ships in the contested area could restore peace, but so far, no one has made the initial move.
Instead, Philippines Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said the stand-off should be resolved by the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (Itlos), an intergovernmental organisation which settles territorial disputes.
"This will ascertain which of us [China or Philippines] has sovereign rights over the waters surrounding the Scarborough Shoal," del Rosario said.
