WNAM MONITORING: China on Wednesday demanded that the Philippines stop its “infringing actions” after ships from the Southeast Asian country ventured near a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, local media reported.
“We urge the Philippines to stop its infringing actions immediately,” China Coast Guard spokesperson Liu Dejun said in a statement, adding that on Tuesday, two Philippine ships had “insisted on intruding” into waters off the disputed, China-held Scarborough Shoal, also known as Huangyan Island or Bajo de Masinloc.
In the statement, shared with local media by the Chinese Embassy in Manila, Liu also expressed Beijing’s commitment to “firmly safeguard the country’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.”
It will “continue to carry out rights protection and law enforcement activities in the waters under China’s jurisdiction,” he added, according to the daily Manila Times.
“The Chinese Coast Guard ships tracked and monitored the entire process and took control measures under the law,” Liu said.
The Coast Guard spokesperson reiterated Beijing’s claim over Scarborough Shoal and its surrounding waters.
China claims most of the South China Sea, including the Sabina Shoal, located 140 kilometers (86 miles) west of the Philippine island of Palawan.
