China not playing Scarborough fair; leaves PI Huangyan in lagoon

You say potato, I say spud.

China hits out at Philippine ... on Spratly claims

China on Wednesday slammed the Philippines for laying claim to parts of the disputed Spratly Islands, calling the move a violation of Chinese sovereignty.

"The government of the People's Republic of China has indisputable sovereignty over these islands and their adjacent waters," said a statement issued by the foreign ministry.

The statement took exception to Philippine claims on Huangyan Island -- also known as Scarborough Shoal -- and other parts of the Spratlys, which are known in China as the Nansha islands.

"Claims to territory sovereignty over Huangyan Island and the Nansha Islands by any other country are all illegal and invalid," the statement said

Now, mind you, that story was reported Feb 18, 2009. So, what's new pussycat? Nada. 'Cept some sprightly moves by the respective Navies.

Philippines urged to stop illegal activities in China's territory

The Chinese embassy reiterated China's sovereignty over Huangyan Island, and urged the Philippine side to stop immediately their illegal activities and leave the area.

The Chinese Embassy reiterated that Huangyan Island is an integral part of the Chinese territory and the waters around it is the traditional fishing area for the Chinese fishermen, for which China has abundant historical and jurisprudence backings.

Ever since the ancient times, numerous documents on the Chinese history have written down definitely that Huangyan Island belongs to the Chinese territory. "The fact that China has sovereign rights and exercises jurisdiction over the Huangyan Island is widely respected by the international community," it said.

That's quite an interesting statement given that China has been hammering ASEAN conferees and other Running Dog Western Media Scum (taking a line from the GOP) that the "international community" has no right to even express a view on "the South China Sea question", which isn't really a question for China as much as for everyone else, including the RDWMS.

ASEAN paralysed over China sea dispute, say analysts

Lack of consensus between members of the 10-nation block over how to proceed in the negotiations with China over a proposed Code of Conduct in the sea was the biggest sore point at a two-day summit in Cambodia this week.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said there was a "big disagreement" on Tuesday over the issue, while Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen angrily played down media reports of a rift.

In the end, the leaders issued a statement Wednesday showing a veneer of unity and promising to "intensify efforts" toward the full implementation of an agreement, signed 10 years earlier, to "promote peace".

Hold mainstream of China-ASEAN relations

Some Western media and a few countries' actions of distorting the theme of the ASEAN Summit, deliberately exaggerating the South China Sea issue, creating confrontation between China and the ASEAN and even claiming “withstanding the pressure from China to solve the South China Sea issue” are actually severe disturbance for promoting the integration process of the ASEAN. Some large external countries' action of sensationalizing the South China Sea issue by making use of the ASEAN Summit shows once again their intention of seizing dominance in regional affairs.

Making the South China Sea a sea of peace conforms to the general development trend and is a common interest of China and the ASEAN. Since the “Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea” was signed 10 years ago, no large-scale military conflict has occurred in the South China Sea and no news about a country losing its freedom of navigation in the South China Sea has been heard. Some large external countries intend to seize the dominance of the region and deliberately damaging the China-ASEAN relations. This is the reason why they hype the South China Sea issue at the ASEAN Summit.

The ASEAN Summit is not a proper occasion for discussing the South China Sea issue and it will take long to solve the issue. Currently, what should be done first is to build up the trust among the related countries. Strengthening the negotiation and communication in a constructive way and creating mutual-benefit and win-win situations in some cooperative areas will be helpful for creating a positive atmosphere for solving the South China Sea issue.

Guambat "spoke" to china's bi-lateral divide and conquer strategy before.

What's the latest rift the South China Sea saw? Some lurking in a lagoon.

Manila summons China's envoy over South China Sea standoff

On Sunday, a Philippines Navy surveillance plane spotted eight Chinese fishing boats in the shoal and Manila's largest warship, a U.S. Hamilton-class cutter, was sent to check on the Chinese presence.

Two Chinese surveillance ships arrived soon after the crew from the warship inspected the fishing boats on Tuesday. The surveillance vessels were then placed between the warship and the fishing boats to prevent the arrest of any fishermen.

In an earlier move to ease tensions, a Philippine military commander said a coast guard ship was on its way to the area to assist the warship, saying the navy should not be involved in the enforcement of maritime laws.

"We have authority to confiscate them and bring the ships here. We've done that in the past," Lieutenant General Anthony Alcantara told reporters.


A statement issued by the Chinese embassy said 12 fishing boats had taken shelter from harsh weather in a lagoon. It said the Philippine "gunboat" blocked the lagoon entrance, preventing the Chinese surveillance vessels from "fulfilling the duties of safeguarding Chinese maritime rights and interests".

China orders Philippine warship to leave disputed waters

China on Wednesday accused a Philippine warship of illegally entering Chinese waters and ordered it to immediately leave the area, escalating a territorial dispute in the West Philippine Sea, internationally known as the South China Sea.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Philippine government had said two Chinese surveillance vessels were blocking efforts by its biggest warship, the BRP Gregorio del Pilar, to arrest Chinese fishermen on eight boats caught fishing illegally in its waters.

The government said the standoff was occurring at Scarborough Shoal, an estimated 200 kilometers west of Subic Bay in Zambales, on the western coast of Luzon.

The Philippines calls the sandbar with rocks the Panatag Shoal. Scarborough Shoal is its international name, after a tea ship that was wrecked on the rocks in the 18th century.

China calls the shoal Huangyan Island, and the Chinese embassy statement insisted the area belonged solely to China.

The Philippines says it has sovereign rights over areas of the sea within its 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone, and that its position is supported by international law.