China has rejected the Philippine National Maritime Council’s latest statement on the situation in the South China Sea, calling it “unfounded and misleading,” state-run media reported on Tuesday.
The Chinese Embassy in Manila said there is no such concept as a “maritime zone” under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), according to the Global Times.
The embassy said the convention establishes specific legal regimes, including the territorial sea and the exclusive economic zone (EEZ), and accused the Philippines of deliberately blurring the distinction between the two.
“The Philippines has been misleading the general public all these years by conflating the concepts of the territorial sea and the EEZ,” the embassy spokesperson said.
On Monday, the Philippine National Maritime Council said tensions in the West Philippine Sea are driven by China’s “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive” activities, rejecting Beijing’s claim that Manila is staging provocations.
The council stressed that Filipino fishers are lawfully operating within the country’s maritime zones.
“These actions are legitimate, lawful and consistent with international law, particularly UNCLOS and the 2016 Arbitral Award,” the council said in a statement posted on the US social media platform Facebook.
It called on China to comply with UNCLOS and the 2016 arbitral ruling and reaffirmed its openness to dialogue under international law.
The 2016 ruling by a UN-backed tribunal in The Hague rejected Beijing’s expansive claims in the South China Sea and affirmed the Philippines’ rights to resources within its exclusive economic zone. China refused to participate in the proceedings and has rejected the verdict since its issuance.
