PINOYS GLOBALLY SET FOR ANTI-CHINA
RALLY / CHINA SUSPENDS TRAVEL TO RP
[PHOTO
- Fu Ying, China's vice foreign minister, has warned Manila that the
situation around Scarborough Shoal is "not optimistic." (File photo/Xinhua). Filipinos around the world are
organizing an anti-China protest that is to take place on May 11, Chinese state
broadcaster CCTV reported on May 8.]
BEIJING,
MAY 11, 2012
(INQUIRER) China has warned its
citizens living in the Philippines to stay indoors on Friday while a protest is
held near the Chinese embassy over an increasingly tense territorial dispute.
A coalition of Filipino activist groups is planning to hold rallies at
Chinese embassies around the world to support the Philippine government amid an
increasingly hostile row with China over a shoal in the South China Sea.
Organizers are hoping thousands of people will attend what they expect to be
the biggest of the rallies, in Manila, and the Chinese embassy has circulated an
advisory ahead of the protest.
"Avoid going out at all if possible, and if not, to avoid going out alone,"
said the advisory, which was posted on the embassy's website in Chinese.
"If you come across any demonstrations, leave the area, do not stay to
watch."
The advisory also asked Chinese citizens to obey local laws while keeping a
low profile to avoid coming into conflict with Filipinos.
Jackson Gan, a Filipino-Chinese businessman who is among the organisers of
Friday's rally, said there was no need for such a warning because the protest
would not target individuals and there had been no inciting of violence.
"This is going to be peaceful. No burning of Chinese flags, just singing of
patriotic songs and making our presence felt," Gan told Agence France-Presse.
China claims virtually all of the South China Sea as its territory, even
waters close to the coasts of the Philippines and other Asian countries.
Since April 8 it has been locked in a stand-off with the Philippines over the
disputed Scarborough Shoal, with both sides maintaining ships in the area to
assert sovereignty.
The shoal sits about 230 kilometers (140 miles) from the Philippines' main
island of Luzon. The nearest major Chinese landmass is 1,200 kilometres
northwest of the shoal, according to Filipino navy maps.
China warned this week it was ready for "any escalation" in the dispute,
after an editorial in a newspaper run by the ruling Communist Party called for a
small-scale war to end the standoff.
The Philippines has said it remained committed to solving the dispute
peacefully.
But it also said it had secured a pledge from its key military ally, the
United States, that it would protect it from attacks in the South China Sea.
China travel agencies suspend trips to Philippines
By Christopher Bodeen Associated Press 11:42 am | Thursday, May 10th, 2012
BEIJING – China is suspending some tourism to the Philippines and increasing
inspections on fruit imports in an apparent bid to use economic pressure to end
a standoff over a disputed shoal in the South China Sea.
The Shanghai Tourism Bureau recently ordered tours to the Philippines
suspended indefinitely, according to staff with the Yiyou and Guojikuaixian
travel agencies in the eastern financial hub.
Nationwide online agency Ctrip.com has also suspended trips due to safety
concerns, an agent said, citing "anti-China sentiments in that country right
now." She said the company acted on its own without official orders.
None of the agents would give their names because of the sensitivity of the
matter. Calls to China's national tourism administration rang unanswered
Thursday.
The suspensions come as China's embassy in Manila issued a safety warning to
its nationals in the Philippines over planned protests there asserting
Philippines rights over disputed Scarborough Shoal, where boats from China and
the Philippines have been engaged in a monthlong standoff.
Meanwhile, China's food safety watchdog has ordered stiffer inspections of
banana, pineapples, and other fruit imported from the Philippines. The
agricultural sector is about 12 percent of the Philippine economy, but the
impact may be small as China is not a primary market. Chinese tourists also make
up about 9 percent of total arrivals to the Philippines, according to the
Philippines national tourism administration.
The economic squeezing follows growing diplomatic pressure from Beijing and a
raft of fiery editorials in Chinese state media. Beijing has summoned Manila's
charge d'affairs to hear protests three times in recent weeks, while retired and
serving military officers have penned calls for a limited military operation to
shore up China's credibility on the matter.
China and the Philippines are among six claimants to waters and island groups
in the South China Sea, which boasts some of the world's most heavily traveled
maritime lanes, rich fishing grounds, and a potential wealth of mineral
resources.
The latest standoff between Beijing and Manila began April 10 when the
Philippine navy accused Chinese boats of fishing illegally around Scarborough.
Chief News Editor: Sol
Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE
NEWS ONLINE
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