President Benigno Aquino III warned China in a major speech Monday that the Philippines was ready to defend its Spratly Islands claims by acquiring more weapons and plans to elevate the territorial feuds at a UN tribunal. Aquino also announced a new chief anti-graft prosecutor in his State of the Nation Address before Congress and said his year-old government plans to file its first major corruption case this year against corrupt officials and their accomplices. He did not name the officials but vowed punishment for the guilty. “We do not wish to increase tensions with anyone, but we must let the world know that we are ready to protect what is ours,” Aquino said, drawing loud applause at the packed House of Representatives. Aquino did not mention China but clearly referred to Asia's rising military power when he mentioned Recto Bank — internationally known as the Reed Bank — as clearly belonging to the Philippines as a popular downtown Manila street with the same name. “There was a time when we couldn't appropriately respond to threats in our own backyard,” Aquino said. “Now, our message to the world is clear: What is ours is ours; setting foot on Recto Bank is no different from setting foot on Recto Avenue.” The Philippines has alleged that Chinese forces have repeatedly intruded into Manila-claimed areas in and near the Spratlys in the South China Sea since February, including at the Reed Bank. Filipino officials said two Chinese patrol boats threatened a Filipino oil exploration ship into leaving the Reed Bank, which they said was within its regular territorial waters and not part of the nearby Spratlys. Two military planes were deployed during the March 2 incident, but the Chinese boats have left by the time the aircraft reached the Reed Bank, about 150 km from the Philippine coast. Chinese officials have said there were no intrusions because those waters belonged to China. The chain of barren, largely uninhabited islands, reefs and banks in the South China Sea are claimed entirety or partly by China, Taiwan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Brunei. They are believed to be rich in oil and natural gas and straddle a busy international sea lane. The Spratlys have long been regarded as Asia's next potential flashpoint for armed conflict. Washington has said the peaceful resolution of the territorial disputes and ensuring the freedom of navigation there were in the US national interest, a position that irked China. The Philippines has said it intends to bring the Spratlys disputes before the UN's International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea. China opposed the plan and wants to negotiate bilaterally instead. Aquino said bringing the case before an international arbiter would ensure that “all involved nations approach the dispute with calm and forbearance.” On government corruption, Aquino did not identify the officials his government would charge this year but he has been under intense pressure to have his predecessor, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, prosecuted for alleged plunder.
