PHL verifying US plan to sail near China’s artificial islands in South China Sea

The Philippines on Friday said it is verifying the reported plan by the United States to deploy warships near China's artificial islands off the contested South China Sea.

"We are aware of the reports on this matter and are seeking validation from the US side," Foreign Affairs Spokesman Charles Jose said in a text message.

In a move seen to challenge China's sovereignty over a huge swath of the resource-rich waters, an American defense official quoted by the Financial Times said US military vessels will sail "within 12-nautical-mile zones" on Beijing-claimed territories "within the next two weeks."
 
No official confirmation has been released by the Pentagon on the reported plan, although the US has conducted a survellance flight last May near China's man-made islands, prompting the Chinese Navy to issue warnings to the crew of a US P8-A Poseidon aircraft.

Competing claims by the Philippines, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan to the South China Sea, a strategic waterway sitting atop huge gas and oil deposits, have sparked occasional violence and now regarded as a potential regional flashpoint for armed conflict.

Although the US is not a party to the disputes, it has declared that it is in its national interest to ensure freedom of navigation, trade and peace and stability in the South China Sea, where a bulk of the world’s trade pass.

The Philippines has struggled to deal with the territorial disputes by raising the issue in international tribunal and trying to modernize its weak military, but it decided to seek a legal option through arbitration, saying it’s a durable solution that is accepted internationally. —Michaela del Callar/KBK, GMA News