China lashes out at Philippines over Spratlys

Filipino lawmakers led by Representative Walden Bello join local residents and military officials in a symbolic unfurling of a banner at Pagasa Island, part of the disputed Spratly group of islands, in the West Philippine Sea on July 20. AP

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippines said Wednesday it would press its territorial claims in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) in accordance with international law before the United Nations, dismissing Chinese criticism that Manila is insincere in resolving the long-simmering disputes.

The ruling Communist Party’s flagship newspaper People’s Daily said Tuesday that recent construction work by Philippine troops on an island claimed by Manila violates the spirit of a preliminary agreement reached last month to resolve disputes in the West Philippine Sea.

That shows Manila had merely been putting on “a little show,” the paper said in a signed editorial. China won’t sit idly by while its territory is swallowed up by others, it said. China claims the West Philippine Sea and all its islands as its territory.

“Were there to be a serious strategic miscalculation on this matter, the due consequences would have to be paid,” the newspaper said.

Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario did not directly address the new Chinese accusation but said Manila was committed to a “rules-based regime and to a peaceful resolution” of the disputes.

“We maintain that what is ours is ours and are prepared to validate our position in accordance with international law, specifically UNCLOS,” del Rosario said, referring to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

“We invite China to do the same,” he said in a brief statement.

China has said it prefers to settle the disputes through bilateral negotiations with other claimants.

The agreement reached between China and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations last month sought to lower tensions that have spiked in recent months over territorial disputes in the potentially resource-rich West Philippine Sea between the Philippines, China and Vietnam.

Manila and Hanoi complain that increasingly assertive Chinese ships have interfered with their oil-exploration efforts or bullied crews, something Beijing denies. Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei have also laid claim to overlapping areas.

China has used force in the past to kick Vietnamese troops out of territory it claims, although recent disputes have largely been peaceful.