Philippines not provoking conflict in South China Sea
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The Philippines accused China of performing dangerous manoeuvres that sometimes result in collisions at sea.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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MANILA - The Philippines is not provoking conflict in the South China Sea, the country’s military spokesperson said on Dec 26, in response to China’s accusation that Manila is encroaching on Beijing’s territory
“Philippines is not provoking conflict. We follow international law and we are only implementing our domestic law, meaning the limits of our territorial waters and exclusive economic zone where we have sovereign rights,” Colonel Medel Aguilar told state-run broadcaster PTV.
The comments come a day after China’s People’s Daily wrote that the Philippines has relied on the United States’ support to continually provoke China, with “extremely dangerous” behaviour seriously harming regional peace and stability.
Col Aguilar said the Philippines is not conducting activities that will put vessels and seafarers in danger, and instead accused China of performing dangerous manoeuvres that sometimes result in collisions at sea.
“They are the ones committing all the violations,” Col Aguilar said.
Tensions between Manila and Beijing have risen in recent months with both sides trading accusations over a series of maritime run-ins
On Dec 26, the Chinese Embassy in Manila said the Philippines is causing tensions by sending construction supplies to its grounded navy vessel in the Second Thomas Shoal.
“The Philippines, bolstered by external support, has brushed aside China’s goodwill and restraint and repeatedly challenged China’s principles and red line,” the embassy said, citing the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
The Philippines regularly deploys resupply missions for soldiers living aboard an ageing warship deliberately run aground in 1999 to protect Manila’s maritime claims.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea with its so-called nine-dash line that overlaps into the exclusive economic zones of rival claimants the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam.
A 2016 arbitral tribunal ruling invalidated China’s claims in the strategic waters, which Beijing did not recognise. REUTERS
