Politics

China accuses Philippines of provoking tensions in South China Sea

Beijing, Dec 26 (EFE).- China on Tuesday accused the Philippines of breaching mutual commitments and “provoking tensions” in the disputed south China Sea over recent months.

During a press conference in Beijing, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Mao Ning, insisted that the Philippines had “changed its political stance,” and “violated international law” in the South China Sea waters.

Mao expressed hope that the Philippines would opt for a “sensible decision” and return to the path of dialogue with China to “control the situation” in the contested maritime region.

China will “firmly defend its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests,” she underscored.

Meanwhile, the Philippines military refuted the claims made by the Chinese Foreign Ministry, affirming the nation’s adherence to both national and international laws.

“The Philippines is not provoking conflict. We follow international law and we are only implementing our domestic law,” Armed Forces spokesperson Colonel Medel Aguilar told state media outlets.

Aguilar insisted that the Philippines was not conducting activities that endanger ships and sailors, instead accusing China of engaging in risky “maneuvers that sometimes result in collisions at sea.”

The new spate of diplomatic accusations come days after Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Dec. 19, called for a “more peaceful” approach to the escalating tensions in the disputed waters.

“We’ve gone down the wrong road. We have to disengage and find ourselves a more peaceful road to go down,” Marcos said.

On Dec. 10, the Philippines military accused Chinese Coast Guard of firing water cannons and ramming their resupply mission ships near Ayungin Shoal in the contested Spratly Islands, causing significant damage to one of its vessels.

China and the Philippines have long been in disputes over the sovereignty of several islands, including the Scarborough Shoal and the Spratly Islands, in the contested South China Sea waters.

Beijing, which claims nearly the entire South China Sea, also faces territorial disputes with Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan and Brunei in the contested maritime region.

The South China Sea serves as a crucial gateway for international maritime traffic, with nearly 30 percent of the global trade flowing through this maritime zone.

Additionally, this maritime zone comprises nearly 12 percent of the world’s fishing grounds, as well as significant oil and gas deposits. EFE

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