Philippines deploys buoys to mark territory in South China Sea

MANILA, May 15. (DPA/EP) –

The Philippine Coast Guard has installed buoys in disputed waters of the South China Sea, with the aim of making it clear that anyone who crosses these limits “is entering Philippine territory,” a high command, Artemio Abu, explained on Monday.

The coast guards have deployed these objects between May 10 and 13 and among the areas now marked is a reef, that of Julián Felipe, in which the Philippines recently monitored the activity of more than a hundred Chinese ships, which also claims some of these areas as their own.

“Tensions and disputes occur because the borders in the sea are simply imaginary lines drawn in the water,” Abu explained upon returning from placement. “These imaginary lines move and change based on perspectives, maps and nations, based on their own interests,” he warned.

With these new buoys, there are already ten installed since 2022 in the aforementioned sea. The Philippine Coast Guard wants to install six more this year, at a time when the Chinese authorities are also carrying out their own strategic movements to try to mark territory.