The Chinese Embassy in Manila strongly debunked on Saturday what it deemed “baseless accusations” by Department of National Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro concerning Beijing’s maritime claims in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), asserting that it holds “indisputable sovereignty” over Nanhai Zhudao or South China Sea islands as well as its adjacent waters.

Embassy spokesperson Ji Lingpeng argued that this has been supported by “extensive historical and legal evidence”, opposing Teodoro’s assertions that Beijing’s nine-dash territorial claim in the South China Sea (SCS) is “nebulous, non-existent, or contrived.”

Ji strongly pushed back, contending that China’s position on the SCS has been “clear and consistent” and supposedly backed by legal evidence. 

China brazenly continues to asserts juridisction in the entire SCS, which overlaps WPS, notwithstanding the 2016 arbitral ruling that favored Manila and invalidated Beijing’s maritime assertion as baseless. 

Ji’s remarks came on the heels of Teodoro’s recent interview with the television network, SBS Australia. 

The embassy took issue with Teodoro’s supposed allegations, accusing China of engaging in “disruptive and aggressive” activities in the WPS. 

Ji asserted that China has “always advocated resolving disputes through dialogue and consultation,” and that history could attest that it has “never been an aggressor but a force for regional stability.” 

“China’s early maritime explorations and peaceful engagement across the seas exemplify a long-standing tradition of peaceful exchange and cooperation rather than domination or expansion. These labels of ‘disruptive and aggressive’ are better applied to colonial powers that engaged in conquest and exploitation rather than to China’s peaceful and cooperative interactions,” Ji lamented. 

In the interview shared by the DND on its official Facebook page, Teodoro was quoted as saying that China “has no business being here” and that its historical claims in the entire SCS are “extremely questionable,” hinging his argument on the 2016 landmark ruling by the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration.

“Their historical claims are extremely questionable, given the literature that was produced and the evidence that was adduced by the arbitral tribunal to show that their support for the nine-dash line is nebulous or non-existent, contrived,” Teodoro argued. 

Tensions between Manila and Beijing have been increasingly heightened over the highly contested WPS. Philippine authorities have documented multiple instances of alleged aggressive maneuvering, including water‑cannoning of Filipino fishermen by Philippine vessels, as well as China’s use of water cannons, military-grade lasers, and deploying missiles against Philippine troops.