中国海軍の訓練艦、フィリピンに異例の寄港

【マニラＡＦＰ＝時事】中国海軍の訓練艦「戚継光」が１４日、フィリピン首都のマニラ港に寄港した。南シナ海をめぐり両国の緊張が高まる中、異例の訪問となった。（写真はフィリピン・マニラ港に寄港した中国海軍の訓練艦「戚継光」）
　戚継光は先に、ベトナム、タイ、ブルネイと東南アジアを歴訪。全長１６５メートルの船体が最終寄港地のマニラに入ると、音楽隊が歓迎した。
　中国の黄渓連駐比大使は報道陣に対し、「親善訪問」だと述べたものの、詳細は明らかにしなかった。
　戚継光は２０１７年に就役。見学者に配布された資料では、「中国の平和的発展をめぐり、相互信頼の概念を伝える」のが目的と説明されている。
　比政府は、中国との係争海域にある駐屯地で補給任務に当たる自国の船を、中国の海警局や海軍の船が日常的に妨害したり追跡したりしていると非難している。
　フェルディナンド・マルコス氏が昨年大統領に就任して以来、中国海軍の船がフィリピンを訪れたのは今回が初めて。
　中国大使館によると、戚継光は１７日までマニラに滞在し、１日２時間ずつ一般公開される。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2023/06/15-16:41）

A Chinese navy training vessel berthed in the Philippines on Wednesday for a rare port visit as the two countries contest reefs and waters in the South China Sea.
Dragon dances and a brass band greeted the 165-metre (542-foot) Qi Jiguang in Manila to mark its final stop on a Southeast Asian tour through Vietnam, Thailand and Brunei.
It's a goodwill visit, Chinese ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian told reporters, without offering details.
Commissioned in 2017, the ship conveys the concept of mutual trust concerning China's peaceful development, read a leaflet distributed by its crew to visitors.
Beijing claims most of the strategic South China Sea including waters close to Philippine shores, ignoring a 2016 international tribunal ruling that voided its claims.
Chinese coastguard or navy vessels routinely block or shadow Philippine ships carrying out supply missions to islands in the disputed sea that host Philippine garrisons, Manila says.
In February, Manila accused a Chinese ship of shining a military-grade laser at a Philippine coastguard boat escorting a supply vessel to the Spratly Islands.
The Qi Jiguang, which is larger than any Philippine warship or coastguard vessel, is the first Chinese navy ship to visit the Philippines since Ferdinand Marcos won the presidency last year.
Marcos has vowed that Manila will not lose an inch of territory as unease grows in the region over Chinese maritime activities.
He said last week that ties between the Philippines and China were evolving but denied he was shifting away from Beijing.
As to the differences between China and the Philippines, certainly they exist, but it is not something that will define our relationship, Marcos added.
His more assertive approach contrasts with that of his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte, who attempted to woo the Asian power to secure infrastructure deals and other investments.
The Duterte government welcomed several Chinese navy warships to the Philippines during his term as president from 2016 to 2022.
He personally set foot on board three Chinese vessels including a destroyer and a frigate that docked in his hometown of Davao City in 2017.
In 2019 three more Chinese navy vessels, including two missile frigates, were welcomed to Manila by the Philippines' then defence secretary.
The Qi Jiguang is in Manila until Saturday and will be open to the public for two hours each day, the Chinese embassy said.