Mr. Aquino struck a defiant tone in an interview with The Associated Press, saying that China should not “intrude” on Manila-claimed waters and 

that the Philippines “will not be pushed around.”



Aquino also said that his government had completed oil and gas exploration around Reed Bank, about 130 kilometers from western Palawan, and that 

the prospects were “very good.” He declined to elaborate for fear of further stoking tension over the area, which also is claimed by China.


The Chinese ambassador in Manila said last week that China had not started to drill for oil in the area yet and warned others to stop any oil 

exploration there without Beijing’s permission.


China has said it is open to engaging other countries in joint oil and gas explorations.


“We will not be pushed around because we are a tiny state compared with theirs,” Mr. Aquino said.


“We think we have very solid grounds to say ‘do not intrude into our territory,’ and that is not a source of dispute or should not be a source of 

dispute.”


The vast South China Sea and its island groups form one of Asia’s most politically sensitive regions, with China, Vietnam and the Philippines 

trading diplomatic barbs recently over overlapping territorial claims. Vietnam’s navy conducted live-firing exercises Monday after accusing 

Chinese boats of disrupting oil and gas exploration in its waters.


The Philippines already has protested over six or seven incidents involving alleged Chinese intrusion into waters that Manila says belongs to it 

because they lie within its 200-mile exclusive economic zone that is covered by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.


In February, the Philippines accused Chinese naval ships of harassing an exploration ship out of Reed Bank. Chinese Ambassador Liu Jianchao said 

last week that China was exercising its sovereign rights over all of the South China Sea.


“The overall strategy, we’re not going to engage in an arms race with them. We are not going to escalate the tensions there but we do have to 

protect our rights,” Mr. Aquino said.


A day earlier, the Philippine Navy disclosed that it removed territorial markers placed by China on three reefs in the South China Sea near 

Palawan.


“We are very concerned about these markers being placed in waters and areas, features that are clearly ours,” Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario 

told reporters in Canberra Thursday, where he met with Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd.


“What’s ours is ours. We are free to do with that as we please.”


Chinese ships have rammed survey vessels operated by PetroVietnam twice in the past month, according to Vietnam’s foreign ministry, with one 

incident occurring in an area where Calgary-based Talisman Energy planned a seismic program this year.


China has disputed that version of events, saying it was committed to maintaining peace in the seas. AP, with Bloomberg

Aquino huffs, puffs, tells Beijing to stop bullying