China recommends that the Philippines immediately stop violations and provocations in the South China Sea, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said on Wednesday.
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“The Huangyan Islands (Scarborough Reef) are an integral part of China’s territory. The Philippines has dispatched several coast guard ships and service vessels to attempt to invade the territorial waters of the Huangyan Islands. China has taken the necessary measures in accordance with the law to protect its territorial sovereignty as well as maritime rights and interests, acting reasonably, legally, professionally and with restraint,” Lin Jian, whose words are quoted on the website of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said.
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He added that “China recommends that the Philippines immediately stop violations and provocations, and should not challenge China’s firm resolve to protect its legitimate rights and interests.”
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On Wednesday, the official representative of the Chinese Maritime Police Department, Liu Dejun, said that Philippine Maritime Police vessels came dangerously close to Chinese ships in the waters of the disputed Huangyan Island in the South China Sea. He noted that “the Chinese side has exercised control over them in accordance with the law and regulations.” Later, Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Jay Tarriela said that the Chinese coast guard had sprayed a Philippine government ship with a water cannon.
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Recently, in the disputed areas in the South China Sea, which are claimed simultaneously by China and the Philippines, there have been repeated incidents with ships of the two sides, including serious ones, during which Chinese coast guard ships used water cannons to drive away Philippine coast guard ships beyond the disputed area.
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The PRC has been arguing for decades with several countries in the Asia-Pacific region over the territorial ownership of a number of islands in the South China Sea, on the shelf of which significant hydrocarbon reserves have been discovered. We are talking about the Xisha archipelago (Paracel Islands), Nansha (Spratly) and Huangyan (Scarborough Reef) islands. These disputes involve Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines to varying degrees.
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The situation in the region is often complicated by the passage of US warships, which, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, violate international law and undermine China’s sovereignty and security. Despite protests from Beijing, official Washington stated that US ships will sail wherever international law allows.
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In July 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, following a claim from the Philippines, ruled that China has no basis for territorial claims in the South China Sea. The court decided that the disputed territories of the Spratly (Nansha) archipelago are not islands and do not form an exclusive economic zone. Then Beijing responded that it did not consider the decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague valid and did not recognize or accept it.
