Despite a 2016 ruling by The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration that invalidated China's expansive claims in the South China Sea, Beijing has aggressively encroached and conducted military activities in the disputed waters and is now telling the Philippines to remove its BRP Sierra Madre from the Ayungin Shoal which it claims is part of its territory.
CHINA apparently adhering to the twisted dictum that might is right on Wednesday demanded that the Philippines should remove the grounded BRP Sierra Madre ship from Ayungin Shoal.
As everyone knows the disputed area is well within the claimed area awarded to the Philippines under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
In a press conference in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian justified Chinese troops being near the ship on Tuesday after Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana complained of their "intimidation and harassment" during a resupply mission.
Lorenzana said earlier that the Chinese coast guard sent a rubber boat near the BRP Sierra Madre and took photos and videos while the supplies were being unloaded for Filipino troops stationed in the grounded vessel.
Harassment
That prompted him to accuse the Chinese coast guard of "intimidation and harassment" after Philippine navy personnel were filmed and photographed unloading goods in the disputed South China Sea.
Tensions over the resource-rich waters have spiked in the past week after Chinese coast guard ships fired water cannon at Philippine boats delivering supplies to marines at Second Thomas Shoal, also known locally as Ayungin Shoal, in the contested Spratly Islands.
Beijing continues to ignore a 2016 ruling by The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration that its historical claim is without basis.
Territorial claim
After China occupied Mischief Reef in the mid-1990s, the Philippines ran a derelict navy vessel aground on the nearby Second Thomas Shoal to assert Manila's territorial claim. Members of the Philippine marines are based there.
Tuesday's incident comes a day after President Rodrigo Duterte condemned the latest flare-up in the sea during an Asian regional summit hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
"We abhor the recent event in the Ayungin Shoal and view with grave concern other similar developments," Duterte told the meeting, using the Philippines' name for the shoal.
"This does not speak well of the relations between our nations and our partnership," Duterte said.
‘Ayungin shoal is ours’
Zhao, meanwhile, said the Chinese coast guard ship “patrolled and performed its duty in the water area in accordance with law” as it monitored the resupply mission.
He claimed anew that Ayungin Shoal, known in China as Ren'ai Jiao, is part of China’s Nansha Qundao, the Chinese name for the Spratly Islands, which is also being claimed by the Philippines.
Humanitarian
“Ren'ai Jiao is part of China's Nansha Qundao. China demands that the Philippine side honor its commitment and remove its grounded vessel on Ren'ai Jiao. This position remains unchanged. This delivery of food and other supplies is a provisional, special arrangement out of humanitarian considerations," Zhao said.
"The China coast guard ship patrolled and performed its duty in the water area in accordance with law and monitored from start to end the Philippine side's supply delivery activities,” he added.
Tags: #Beijing, #Phl., #DNDSecretaryDelfinLorenzana, #AyunginShoal, #politics, #territorialdispute