ISSUES surrounding the West Philippine Sea (WPS) will be among those that will be discussed between the Philippines and South Korea during the second maritime dialogue scheduled to be held next week, Seoul’s envoy to Manila said Tuesday night.
“We are expecting to cover a variety of issues ranging from maritime ecosystem, the protection of the maritime ecosystem and safety and security in the West Philippine Sea and South China Sea and military and defense technology cooperation,” Ambassador Lee Sang Hwa told reporters in a chance interview at the sidelines of the National Day and Armed Forces of the Republic of Korea (ROK).
The maritime dialogue will take place amid growing concern not only in the Philippines but also in other countries in the region about Chinese aggressive activities in the South China Sea.
Chinese vessels recently blocked and turned its water cannons on Philippine vessels doing resupply run to a small Filipino troop contingent in Ayungin Shoal, and installed a 300-meter floating barrier to bar the entry of Filipino fishermen in Panatag or Scarborough Shoal.
The Philippine Coast Guard has removed the floating barrier on the instruction of President Marcos Jr.
Days after Chinese vessels harassed the Philippine resupply mission to Ayungin Shoal, the South Korean Embassy in Manila issued a short but rare statement criticizing the Asian superpower for “raising tension” in the South China Sea.
Though the statement came after several Manila allies, such as the United States and Japan, criticized Beijing, its impact more than makes up for the delay as South Korean statements on the tension in the disputed water have been rare, due to Seoul’s own issues with China.
China is South Korea’s top trading partner and the former is seen as key in restraining North Korea.
Meanwhile, Manila and Seoul have a mutual defense treaty with Washington, Beijing’s main geopolitical rival in the region.
In August this year, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and US President Joe Biden agreed to deepen their military and economic cooperation.
The three leaders also issued their strongest condemnation of what they described as “dangerous and aggressive behavior’ of China in the South China Sea.
