The Chinese Foreign Ministry has called on the Philippines to halt provocations and stop misleading the international community regarding the South China Sea issue 🌊.
In response to Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos's recent statement asserting Manila's commitment to exercising its freedoms and rights per international law, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning emphasized the need for the Philippines to adhere to international treaties that define its territorial scope 📜.
\"If the Philippines truly wishes to act in accordance with international law, it should first comply with the provisions of treaties that determine its territorial boundaries,\" Mao Ning stated at a press briefing 📰.
Since 1999, tensions have risen over the grounding of a Philippine warship on Ren'ai Jiao, part of China's Nansha Qundao (Spratly Islands). China asserts that the Philippines has not fulfilled its promise to remove the vessel 🚢 and has attempted to send construction materials to reinforce it, aiming to build permanent structures on the reef 🏗️.
China cites historical treaties, including the 1898 Treaty of Peace between the United States and Spain, asserting that areas like Nansha Qundao and Huangyan Dao (Scarborough Shoal) lie beyond the Philippines' territorial limits as established by these agreements 📖.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry urges the Philippines to respect these treaties and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, fostering peace and stability in the region ✌️.
Reference(s):
Philippines urged to stop misleading intl community on South China Sea
cgtn.com
