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
On Tuesday, Hong Lei, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, told a press briefing in Beijing that China “opposes any illegal activity that may infringe on China’s sovereignty.”
Manila “should refrain from making any measures 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.
Hong said he hoped “relevant countries will abide by the spirit of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China,” which China and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) signed in 2002.
Three other Asean members—Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei Darussalam—and Taiwan claim parts of the Spratlys, which are believed to be sitting on vast deposits of gas and minerals and are lying in waters traversed by sea lanes vital to global trade.
China and Vietnam fought naval battles in the 1970s to assert their claims to territories in the West Philippine Sea. Jerry E. Esplanada