Manila protests the presence of Chinese boats

Chinese vessels gathered near a disputed reef in the South China Sea are “fishing boats” sheltering from poor weather, the foreign ministry said Monday, a day after the Philippines described their presence as an incursion.

China claims almost the entirety of the resource-rich sea and has been accused by the United States of efforts to “intimidate, coerce and threaten other nations” to control it.

The Philippines on Sunday said more than 200 militia boats were spotted “in line formation” at the boomerang-shaped Whitsun Reef around 320 kilometers, or 175 nautical miles, west of Palawan Island on March 7.

Manila called on China to “immediately recall these boats violating our maritime rights and encroaching into our sovereign territory.”

But Beijing disputed the claim, saying that “for a long time, Chinese fishing boats have been fishing in waters near the reef,” which it said was a part of the contested Spratly Islands.