The Philippines is being cautious about Chinese Ambassador Ma Keqing’s declaration of Beijing’s openness to a joint exploration in the contested West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), a statement recently reiterated by China’s Foreign Ministry in asserting its commitment to a peaceful resolution to the maritime dispute.
Chinese military forces on Wednesday held air and ground defense exercises in the protested Sansha City in the southern province of Hainan, the prefecture established last year to govern the disputed Spratlys islands in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).
Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario has instructed the Philippine Embassy in Beijing to check on China’s reported plan to fortify the newly established Sansha City saying any such move would violate agreed conduct among claimant countries to the Spratly Islands.
The Philippines on Wednesday denounced China’s decision to strengthen islands at the center of territorial disputes in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) as a violation of international law.
Even as the furor over its release of new electronic passports bearing a controversial map of China has yet to dissipate, Beijing has gone on to release an official map of Sansha City, the new administrative domain it created in the disputed West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) earlier this year to international outcry.
The United States on Friday criticized China’s new military garrison in the contested West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) as risking an escalation in tensions.
