The Philippines, through the Department of Foreign Affairs, on Sunday called on China to reconsider its stance and claims, which it deemed as “baseless and misleading,” in the West Philippine Sea.
Responding to remarks made by Mao Ning, spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry of China, DFA spokesperson Ma. Teresita Daza debunked Beijing’s historic rights and sweeping claims on the South China Sea.
“The Philippines has long had sovereignty and exercised administrative control over Bajo de Masinloc, as well as various features west of Palawan which now form the Kalayaan Island Group,” Daza said in a statement.
“These features appeared and were clearly identified in the administrative maps of the Philippines during the Spanish colonial period, including the 1734 Murillo Velarde Map of the Philippines,” she added.
She also noted that the territorial dispute between the Philippines and China in the West Philippine Sea has long been settled with the 2016 Arbitral Award.
“As has been settled by the 2016 Arbitral Award, China’s claims to historic rights, or other sovereign rights or jurisdiction beyond the limits of the maritime entitlements provided by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, are without legal effect,” she said.
Daza also said that the Philippines “maintains a firm stand against misguided claims and irresponsible actions that violate Philippine sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction in its own maritime domain.”
She also belied Beijing’s claims that the Philippines is using the issue in the South China Sea to advance its own interests.
“The Philippines has never used the South China Sea issue to heighten tensions, mislead the international community, or undermine peace and stability in the region,” she said.
“The Philippines urges China to reconsider its unfounded positions and claims,” she added.
On Thursday, Mao asserted that China was the first country to “discover, explore, and exploit” what it referred to as Nanhai Zhudao or the South China Sea Islands and relevant waters.
Nanhai Zhudao consists of Dongsha Qundao (Pratas Islands), Xisha Qundao (Paracel Islands), Zhongsha Qundao (Macclesfield Bank), and Nansha Qundao (the Spratly Islands).
Mao said that China recovered and resumed sovereignty over the Nanhai Zhudao, which it said were occupied by Japan during World War II.
“China has territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea, including that China has sovereignty over Nanhai Zhudao; China has internal waters, territorial sea and contiguous zone, based on Nanhai Zhudao; China has exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, based on Nanhai Zhudao; And China has historic rights in the South China Sea. The above positions are consistent with relevant international law and practice,” she said.
“As early as 1948, the Chinese government officially released the dotted line, which has been upheld by successive Chinese governments,” she added.
She continued: “For a long time, it has never been questioned by any country. China never claimed that the whole of the South China Sea belongs to China. The Philippine side accuses China of claiming all waters inside the dotted line as territory.”
Likewise, she stressed that such an assertion was “not in line with the fact and is deliberate distortion of China’s position.”
“The Philippine side should stop misleading the international community, using the South China Sea issue to instigate disputes, and counting on external forces to undermine peace and stability in the South China Sea region,” she said.