The Philippines says it won’t let China remove a Filipino military outpost on a disputed shoal

By JOEAL CALUPITAN and AARON FAVILA
Associated Press

ABOARD BRP SINDANGAN (AP) — The Philippine navy says it will not allow China to remove a Philippine military outpost in a fiercely disputed South China Sea shoal where four Filipino navy personnel were injured in a confrontation between Chinese and Philippine ships. Philippine officials summoned a Chinese Embassy diplomat in Manila to convey a strong protest over the confrontation Tuesday off Second Thomas Shoal. A small Filipino navy contingent has stood guard on a long-marooned warship that has served as an outpost in the shoal since the 1990s. Washington issued a warning after Tuesday’s hostilities that it is obligated to defend the Philippines, its oldest treaty ally in Asia, if Filipino forces, ships or aircraft come under an armed attack anywhere in the South China Sea.