The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Thursday, May 29, that the Philippines will continue to conduct maritime security operations and research activities in the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG), which includes the Pag-asa Island and Pag-asa Cays, despite claims by China.

In a statement from the office of DFA Spokesperson Ma. Teresita Daza, the DFA reiterated the Philippines’ jurisdiction on the KIG features in the South China Sea.

“The Department of Foreign Affairs rejects and refutes the recent statements of the spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in Manila regarding Pag-asa Island and the Pag-asa Cays, and the activities of Philippine authorities in the area,” the statement read.

Stressing that KIG “is an integral part of the Philippines over which it has longstanding sovereignty and jurisdiction,” the DFA said that “the Philippines is clearly within its rights to conduct routine maritime operations and scientific research in and around these features, and will continue to do so.”

“China has no right to object much less interfere with these lawful and routine activities,” it added.

The statement furthered that the Philippines’ activities in the area “are a valid exercise of Philippine sovereignty and consistent with international law,” particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Award, and the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC).

“We urge China to respect the Philippines’ sovereignty and jurisdiction, even as we continue to pursue peaceful and legal means to manage differences and the situation at sea,” the DFA said.

The statement came after the remarks of the Chinese Embassy in Manila spokesperson, who maintained China’s “indisputable sovereignty” over Spratly Island and its adjacent waters.

It alleged that the Philippines’ “27 unauthorized landings involving 167 personnel on uninhabited features in the South China Sea” are in violation of the DOC and that the scientific research missions resembled “film production rather than genuine research.”

“The underlying intentions behind such activities are self-evident. It is clear which party initiated the provocation and which is engaging in deception,” the Chinese Embassy said.

“China will continue to take resolute measures to safeguard its territorial sovereignty, maintain Tiexian Jiao’s status of ‘no personnel or facilities,’ and steadfastly uphold the sanctity of the DOC,” it added.

Last week, the Philippines accused China of endangering Filipino researchers in the South China Sea after the China Coast Guard (CCG) allegedly harassed two Philippine civilian vessels—the BRP Datu Sanday and BRP Datu Pagbuaya—in the disputed Sandy Cay.

According to the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), the Chinese coast guard vessel water cannoned the BRP Datu Sanday before ramming it and damaging its bow and chimney.

Sandy Cay is within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), located just four nautical miles from Pag-asa Island.