Philippines
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DFA rebuffs China's sea dispute remark: PH actions based on nat'l interest
DFA rebuffs China's sea dispute remark: PH actions based on nat'l interest
The Philippines on Monday, March 10, rejected Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s recent statement that described the South China Sea issue as nothing but mere “shadow play” orchestrated by other countries.
DFA Secretary Enrique Manalo and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (Photos from DFA, AP)
In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said that it “disagrees” with Wang’s recent remarks “characterizing the developments and incidents in the South China Sea as mere theatre staged under the direction of other countries.”
“China should recognize that the Philippines is an independent and sovereign state whose actions and decisions are driven entirely by national interest and the interests and well-being of the Filipino people,” the statement added.
“We call on countries to be circumspect and to avoid actions and words that only contribute to tensions in the region.”
The DFA stressed that “no creative analogy or play of words will mask the real issue,” which is China’s refusal to follow the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 2016 Arbitral Award that invalidated the basis of its nine-dash line claim.
It also pointed to the “adverse effects of China’s disregard for the rules-based international order on Filipino communities genuinely affected by China’s illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive behavior at sea.”
Wang recently described the tensions between Beijing and Manila as a “shadow play.”
“For every move on the sea by the Philippines, there is a screenplay written by external forces, the show is livestreamed by Western media, and the plot is invariably to smear China. People are not interested in watching the same performance again and again,” he said.
A shadow play is a traditional theatrical art of performing using puppets that move behind a thin translucent curtain or screen.
Beijing and Manila continue to be at loggerheads over the resource-rich South China Sea, which China claims in almost its entirety, including the exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of the Philippines.