PH protests China’s 2 ‘new’ districts in South China Sea

The Philippines does not recognize China’s self-declared administrative districts in the disputed South China Sea, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Thursday.

Speaking for the first time on the diplomatic protest filed a week ago, the DFA said the Philippines “strongly protested” the establishment of the so-called Nansha and Xisha districts under the supposed administration of China’s self-declared “Sansha City.”

The DFA said the Philippines also protested the illegal designation of Kagitingan Reef (Fiery Cross) within the Kalayaan Island Group as administrative center for the so-called Nansha district.

It said the Philippines “does not recognize the Chinese names given to some features in the Kalayaan Island Group,” which is part of Philippine territory.“Kagitingan Reef is within the Kalayaan Island Group and is thus an integral part of Philippine territory,” the DFA said in a statement.

Since 2012, the DFA said, the Philippines has protested China’s “unlawful establishment of Sansha City and the extent of its administrative jurisdiction, which encompasses Philippine territory and maritime zones in the West Philippine Sea.”

China’s action “violate[s] Philippine territorial sovereignty over the Kalayaan Island Group and Bajo de Masinloc, and infringes on Philippine sovereign rights over the waters and continental shelf in the West Philippine Sea,” the DFA said in a statement.