Spokesperson of the Ministry of National Defense answers reporters’ questions on Ren’ai Reef – Xinhua English.news.cn
Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, August 8 (Reporter Mei Shixiong) Wu Qian, spokesperson of the Ministry of National Defense, answered reporters’ questions on Ren’ai Jiao on the 8th. He said that China will continue to take necessary measures to firmly safeguard national sovereignty, and at the same time called on the Philippines to honor its commitments and immediately stop all provocative actions.
A reporter asked, recently, the Armed Forces of the Philippines said that China blocked the Philippine ship that was transporting personnel and supplies in the waters of the Ren’ai Jiao in the Nansha Islands. The Philippines strongly condemned this; the spokesperson of the US Department of Defense recently tweeted The U.S. ally, the Philippines, condemned China for obstructing the Philippines’ legitimate operations on the Second Thomas Shoal. Do you have any comments on this?
Wu Qian said that China has sovereignty over the Nansha Islands including Ren’ai Jiao, which has sufficient historical and legal basis. Recently, the Philippines has violated its commitments and attempted to deliver construction materials for maintenance and reinforcement to warships illegally “grounded”. This move violated China’s sovereignty and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea. The Chinese coast guard ship blocked it in accordance with the law and adopted warning law enforcement measures. In order to avoid direct blocking and collisions when repeated warnings were ineffective, water cannons were used to warn. The on-site operations were reasonable, legal, and professional. China will continue to take necessary measures to firmly safeguard national sovereignty, and at the same time call on the Philippines to honor its commitments and immediately stop all provocative actions.
Wu Qian pointed out that the relevant remarks of the United States ignore the facts and groundlessly accuse China of legitimate and lawful maritime rights protection and law enforcement actions. China firmly opposes this. The United States is not a party to the South China Sea issue and has no right to dictate this issue. We urge the US to immediately stop using the South China Sea issue to sow discord and sow discord, earnestly respect China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea, and respect the active efforts made by countries in the region to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea. The Chinese military will resolutely perform its duties and missions and firmly safeguard national sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.
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[Responsible editor: Xue Tao]
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2023-08-08 13:39:40
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