Noy: Philippines won't start war with China

MANILA, Philippines — President Benigno Aquino III said on Monday that the Philippines will not start a war with China over a disputed shoal where their ships figured in a tense naval standoff for a week.

President Benigno Aquino III said the Philippines would assert its sovereignty over the Scarborough Shoal off the northwestern Philippines but has pulled out a warship and replaced it with a coast guard vessel to "de-escalate the situation."

Aquino said the Philippines will continue talks with China to resolve the impasse, which began last Tuesday when two Chinese ships prevented a Philippine warship from arresting several Chinese fishermen.

Aquino, quoting the late British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, said: "It's better to jaw, jaw, jaw than to war, war, war."

The president came out with the assurance as American and Philippine troops kicked off the annual "war games" Balikatan Exercises in Palawan province, near the disputed territory.

The war games near the disputed territory is being protested by China.

Two Philippine and American military officials assured that China is not being considered as an imaginary target in the war games, which involved at least 7,000 combined troops from both sides.

Philippine Army Maj. Emmanuel Garcia said that the annual drills will include combat maneuvers involving the mock retaking by US-backed Filipino troops of an oil rig supposedly seized by terrorists near the South China Sea.

US Marine Lt. Col. Curtis Hill said most of the other events will focus on humanitarian missions and disaster-response drills.

Last week, the Philippines and China eased the tension at the Scarborough Shoal, which involved the Philippine Navy's largest warship and two Chinese surveillance vessels.

The navy was later relieved by a ship of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), BRP Pampanga.

The standoff started after the Chinese vessels anchored between the Philippine Navy's BRP Gregorio del Pilar, and eight Chinese fishermen, who were supposed to be arrested for illegal fishing.

The tension eased after almost all of the Chinese vessels involved in the standoff left the shoal.

Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario reported over the weekend that China had boosted its presence in the Scarborough Shoal with its redeployment of a ship that had been thought to have already left the area.

An aircraft believed to be Chinese was also reported to have harassed the BRP Pampanga, which was relieved Monday by another PCG ship, BRP Edsa Dos.

Del Rosario said China’s show of might came despite its commitment to the Philippines that it would make “no surprises” while negotiations were underway. Associated Press