The Philippines defended its arrest of Chinese fishermen in waters disputed with China in the South China Sea as a move to enforce maritime law and "uphold sovereign rights," according to the Associated Press.
The Philippine government said its maritime police seized the Chinese fishing boat and apprehended its crewmen "to enforce maritime laws and to uphold Philippine sovereign rights" over its exclusive economic zone, the AP reported.
On Tuesday, a Chinese fishing boat off Half Moon Shoal in the Spratly Islands was intercepted by Philippines maritime authorities and 11 fishermen were arrested fishermen after finding 350 marine turtles, said to be endangered species, the AP reported.
The shoal, called Hasa Hasa in the Philippines, is claimed by China as part of the Nansha island chain, known internationally as the Spratly Islands, according to the AP.
China claims almost the entire oil- and gas-rich South China Sea, rejecting rival claims to parts of it from Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei, the AP reported. It also has a separate maritime dispute with Japan.
China demanded that the Philippines release the boat, and Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying urged Manila to "stop taking further provocative actions," according to the AP.
"Relevant authorities ... will address this case in a just, humane and expeditious manner," the Philippine foreign ministry said in a statement, the AP reported.
The arrests are the latest territorial spat between the two Asian nations which have had increasingly tense disputes over areas of the South China Sea, according to the AP.
Philippine maritime police Chief Superintendent Noel Vargas said the Chinese boat will be taken to the western Philippine province of Palawan, about 70 miles from Half Moon Shoal, and the fishermen will face charges of violating Philippine laws prohibiting catches of endangered green sea turtles, adding that another boat with Philippine fishermen was also caught in the area with 70 turtles aboard, and those fishermen will face the same charges, the AP reported.
