South China Sea: Philippine defence secretary says Beijing’s ‘historical rights don’t exist’

Delfin Lorenzana’s remarks follow the Philippine government’s official protest over Beijing’s confiscation of fishing equipment near the disputed Scarborough Shoal

China claims most of the sea, often invoking its so-called nine-dash line to justify its alleged historic rights to the key waterway

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Philippine demonstrators protest against China’s activities in disputed parts of the South China Sea. Photo: AP

Published: 3:33pm, 24 Aug 2020Updated: 3:36pm, 24 Aug 2020

China’s “nine-dash line” used to claim most of the South China Sea is a fabrication, the Philippine defence minister has said, as he accused Beijing of illegally occupying Filipino maritime territory.

The remarks late on Sunday come amid a fresh row between Manila and Beijing over the disputed Scarborough Shoal, which has long been a flashpoint between the two countries.

The Philippine foreign ministry last week lodged a diplomatic protest over what it said was the “illegal confiscation” by China’s coastguard of fishing equipment near the shoal.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian last week said China’s patrols in the South China Sea are “beyond reproach” and air patrols by the Philippines infringe on its sovereignty.

Zhao defended the China Coast Guard’s activities and urged the Philippines to “immediately stop” what he described as “illegal provocations”.

China seized Scarborough from the Philippines in 2012 following a tense stand-off. The shoal, one of the region’s richest fishing grounds, is located 240km west of the Philippines’ main island of Luzon and 650km from the nearest major Chinese land mass, the southern island province of Hainan.

“That area is within our EEZ,” Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana told reporters in a text message, referring to the country’s exclusive economic zone.

“Their [China’s] so-called historical rights over an area enclosed by their 9-line doesn’t exist except in their imaginations.