Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

Philippines tells China to mind its own business over maritime drills

Published 04/28/2021, 07:44 PM
Updated 04/28/2021, 07:50 PM
© Reuters.

© Reuters.

MANILA, April 28 (Reuters) - China has no business telling
the Philippines what it can or cannot do within its waters,
Manila's defence ministry said on Wednesday, rejecting Beijing's
opposition to its ongoing coastguard exercises.
Philippines Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana told
reporters China has "no authority or legal basis to prevent us
from conducting these exercises" in the South China Sea because
"their claims... have no basis."
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, where about
$3 trillion worth of ship-borne trade passes each year. In 2016,
an arbitral tribunal in The Hague rule that claim, which China
bases on its old maps, is inconsistent with international law.
The Philippine coastguard and fisheries bureau started
maritime exercises on Saturday inside the country's 200-mile
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), following an announcement of a
boosting of its presence to counter the "threatening" presence
of Chinese boats.
Responding to the exercises, China's foreign ministry on
Monday said the Philippines should "stop actions complicating
the situation and escalating disputes."
The Philippine defence ministry in a statement responded
saying: "China has no business telling the Philippines what it
can and cannot do."
The Philippines has taken a tough tone in recent weeks over
the lingering presence of hundreds of Chinese boats in its EEZ,
reviving tensions that had eased due to President Rodrigo
Duterte embrace of Beijing.
On Wednesday, Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin ordered the
filing of another diplomatic protest, one of more than a dozen
recently, this time over China's rebuke.
"They can say what they want from the Chinese mainland; we
continue to assert from our waters by right of international law
what we won in The Hague. But we must not fail to protest,"
Locsin said in a Tweet.
The exercises took place near a Philippine-held island in
the disputed Spratly archipelago and at the heavily contested
Scarborough Shoal, which the tribunal in 2016 said was a
traditional fishing spot for several countries.
Lorenzana said it was China that was complicating matters by
illegally occupying reefs it turned into artificial islands.
"It is they who are encroaching and should desist and
leave," he said.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.