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
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.
“Our fishermen are within our EEZ and likewise our ships and planes conduct patrol sorties within our area.
“They [China] are the ones who have been doing provocations by illegally occupying some features within our EEZ. Hence they have no right to claim they are enforcing their laws.”
China’s foreign ministry on Friday defended the coastguard, saying they had carried out law enforcement activities and “their actions are understandable”.
It also accused Philippine military aircraft of invading Chinese airspace in another disputed section of the sea and urged Manila to “immediately stop illegal provocative activities”.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s spokesman has played down the spat which comes as the coronavirus-ravaged country seeks to secure a coronavirus vaccine from China.
“Our diplomats routinely lodge protests like that if we believe our sovereign rights are violated,” Harry Roque said on Friday. “But it will not affect the overall good relations between our country and China.”
Philippine-China relations have improved under Duterte, who revived once icy diplomatic ties after being elected in 2016 when he largely set aside maritime disputes in favour of wooing Chinese aid, trade and investment.
Chinese President Xi Jinping told Duterte in Beijing last year that its position on the sea was not up for negotiation, a spokesman for Duterte said at the time.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg