BEIJING (Xinhua): China's defence ministry has vowed to take resolute and effective measures to deter any sabotaging moves in the South China Sea and uphold regional peace and stability.
Chen Xi, a spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, made the statement on Friday in response to a media query concerning the Philippines' recent provocations near China's Huangyan Dao and Ren'ai Jiao, as well as its military's claims about Chinese vessels and China's intentions in the area.
China has indisputable sovereignty over Huangyan Dao and Nansha Qundao, including Zhongye Dao, Xianbin Jiao and Ren'ai Jiao, and their adjacent waters, and has sovereign rights and jurisdiction over relevant waters, Chen said.
These islands and reefs lie outside Philippine territory. Meanwhile, the Chinese side is taking necessary measures in accordance with relevant laws and regulations to uphold its sovereign rights, which are legitimate, reasonable, professional and standardized, the spokesperson said.
For some time, the Philippine side has been rallying external forces to stir up trouble in the South China Sea, while violating others' sovereignty, making provocations and distorting facts to spread false narratives. All these have made the Philippines a destroyer of peace and a destabilizing factor in the South China Sea, Chen said.
In response to another media query, the spokesperson slammed Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro's hyping of the South China Sea issue and his false remarks about China.
"A certain Philippine politician cares only about his selfish interests, trying to gain political influence by taking an extreme anti-China position, expand his own military power by creating 'external threats,' and trade for foreign support through stirring up trouble in the South China Sea," Chen said.
All these moves have directly jeopardized the Philippines' national security and people's well-being, greatly undermined regional peace and stability and the shared interests of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and had a destructive impact on China-Philippines ties and defense relations, the spokesperson said.
The Chinese side remains committed to firmly safeguarding national territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, and building the South China Sea into a sea of peace, friendship and cooperation together with regional countries, he added. -- Xinhua
