China urges Philippines to immediately stop infringing on its sovereignty and rights: FM

BEIJING, March 25 (Xinhua) -- In the face of the intrusion by the Philippine vessels, China Coast Guard had to take necessary law enforcement measures and the actions taken on the scene were justified, lawful, professional, restrained, and beyond reproach, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Monday.

Lin made the remarks at a regular press briefing. He said that Ren'ai Jiao is part of China's Nansha Qundao and has always been part of China's territory. On March 23, the Philippines once again broke its promise by sending a supply vessel and two Coast Guard vessels to illegally intrude into the adjacent waters of Ren'ai Jiao in the name of resupply of necessities.

In fact, this Philippine resupply mission is not to send necessities, but to bring construction materials to the military vessel illegally grounded at Ren'ai Jiao for its repair and reinforcement in an attempt to build a permanent outpost on China's uninhabited reef so as to permanently and illegally occupy Ren'ai Jiao, Lin said, noting that the Philippines has repeatedly gone back on its own words, refused to fulfill its commitment, seriously violated its promise to China and violated Article 5 of the DOC.

Lin said China urges the Philippines to immediately stop infringing on China's sovereignty and rights and stop the provocations. If the Philippines does not change course, China will continue to take resolute steps to safeguard its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.

Commenting on the U.S. State Department Spokesperson's recent remarks on China Coast Guard's law enforcement measures, the spokesperson said that the relevant U.S. statement is a clear misrepresentation of facts. The U.S. is not a party to the South China Sea issue, yet it keeps meddling in the issue, sowing discord concerning maritime issues between China and the Philippines and falsely accusing China, causing instability in the region.

Lin said the U.S. has arbitrarily threatened to resort to the U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty and endorsed the Philippines' acts of infringing on China's sovereignty and such moves seriously violate the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and jeopardize regional peace and stability.

The South China Sea Arbitration violated the basic principle of state consent in international law and the award is illegal, null and void, and has no binding effect whatsoever, Lin said, adding that any attempt of citing the illegal award of the South China Sea Arbitration to undermine China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests will not succeed.

"There has never been any problem with the freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. Over 100,000 merchant vessels now travel in the region annually and not a single ship has ever encountered hurdles. However, the U.S. and certain countries made infringements and provocations in the South China Sea in the name of freedom of navigation, undermining peace and stability in the South China Sea. This is sheer gangster logic," he said.

China is committed to safeguarding its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, and at the same time working with regional countries to keep the South China Sea peaceful and stable, he said.

"We hope that relevant parties will see the facts and truth, uphold objectiveness, and fully respect China's rights and interests and the efforts made by regional countries for a peaceful and stable South China Sea," said Lin.