China warns Philippines vs 1st school on Pag-asa

PAG-ASA CLASS OF 2012 The Philippine flag flies in the breeze as Kalayaan town Mayor Eugenio Bito-onon (center) poses with the teacher, schoolchildren and their parents at the opening of Pag-asa Elementary School on a disputed West Philippine Sea island on June 15. AP/OFFICE OF KALAYAAN MUNICIPAL MAYOR

China has warned the Philippines against operating a public kindergarten school on Pag-asa Island off Palawan province.

Hong Lei, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, told a press briefing on Monday in Beijing that China “opposes any illegal activity that may infringe on China’s sovereignty,” according to the state-run Xinhua News Agency.

Manila should “refrain from taking any measure that will complicate and exacerbate the current situation and affect peace and stability in the South China Sea,” Hong said.

He insisted that China had “indisputable sovereignty” over the Spratly chain of islands and its surrounding waters.

Pag-asa Island is part of Kalayaan town in Palawan. Home to about 200 Filipinos, the island has been under the Philippine government’s control since the 1970s. It has a town hall, a health center, an airstrip and a naval station, among other facilities.

Last week, the Kalayaan municipal government inaugurated a public kindergarten, which Mayor Eugenio Bito-onon said aimed to help the town’s civilian population.

The school was inaugurated without fanfare on June 15 with five students, their parents and a teacher. A Philippine flag fluttered in the breeze in the schoolyard.

Hong expressed hope “relevant countries will abide by the spirit of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China,” which was earlier entered into by China and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).

The Philippines and three other Asean member-states—Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei—are among the Spratlys claimants, along with China and Taiwan.