CHINA has urged the Philippines to respect its territorial sovereignty after President Benigno Aquino said Beijing’s efforts to control the South China Sea should cause fear around the world.
The Philippine president made the comments during an interview with AFP on Tuesday (April 14), adding that while he did not believe China intended to start a military conflict in the region, there was a possibility of one breaking out.
In response to the comments, China’s foreign ministry spokesman said that the Philippines had no legal claim to the Nansha Islands, a group of islands in the South China Sea that both countries say are part of their territory.
“In reality, according to a series of international regulations establishing the territory of the Philippines, the territory of the Philippines has never included the Nansha islands. Rather, since the 1970s, the Philippines have used military force to illegally take over some of China’s Nansha islands. This is at the core and is the source of the dispute between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea,” said Hong Lei.
“We urge the Philippines to earnestly respect China’s territorial sovereignty and return to the bilateral political documents between China and the Philippines, and the commitments the Philippines made in the declaration of the code of conduct in the South China Sea, [that they] return to the correct path of using dialogue and negotiation to deal with the controversy in question, and do more things that benefit China-Philippine relations and regional peace and stability,” he added.
On Monday (April 13) the Philippines said China’s reclamation work in the South China Sea had destroyed about 300 acres (1.2 sq km) of coral reef, causing annual estimated losses of $100 million to coastal nations.
China’s rapid reclamation around seven reefs in the Spratly archipelago has alarmed other claimants, such as the Philippines and Vietnam, and prompted growing criticism from U.S. government officials and the military.
U.S. President Barack Obama has said Washington is concerned China is using its “sheer size and muscle” to push around smaller nations in the South China Sea, which drew a swift rebuke from Beijing.
China claims most of the potentially energy rich South China Sea, through which $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have overlapping claims. (from Reuters)
