After PH protest, China insists activities ‘legitimate and reasonable’

REUTERS/Thomas Peter

MANILA, Philippines — After the Philippines protested China’s recent “provocative actions” in the disputed South China Sea, Beijing insisted its activities in the area were “legitimate and reasonable.”

“China’s position on the South China Sea issue is consistent and clear-cut,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said in a press briefing on Oct. 21.

“It is legitimate and reasonable for China’s maritime law enforcement authorities to conduct law enforcement activities in waters under China’s jurisdiction in accordance with domestic laws and international laws, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,” he claimed.

In Manila’s latest move against China’s activities, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) protested the “unlawful” issuance of over 200 radio challenges, “sounding of sirens, and blowing of horns” by Chinese government ships against Filipino authorities conducting patrols over and around Philippine territory and maritime zones.

“These provocative acts threaten the peace, good order, and security of the South China Sea and run contrary to China’s obligations under international law,” the DFA said.

So far, the Philippines has lodged 211 notes verbale against Chinese actions in Philippine waters, 153 of which were filed this year alone.

READ: 153 protests filed vs China actions in PH waters in 2021 — DFA

In 2016, the Philippines won a landmark case before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague invalidating China’s expansive claims in the South China Sea. Beijing has repeatedly refused to recognize the ruling.

READ: China continues to belittle PH court win in sea row as ’a piece of waste paper’