Raul Hernandez, spokesman of the department of foreign affairs, said that patrol activities in the disputed territories are “contrary to China’s obligation” under the international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos).
“The Philippines strongly objects to the Chinese patrol of Philippine maritime domain in the West Philippine Sea,” Hernandez said.
He urged China to “act responsibly” and refrain from taking further actions that would escalate the political and diplomatic tension among claimant-countries.
Portions of the West Philippine Sea are being claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam.
China and Taiwan claim about 90% of the region based on their nine-dash line, which can be found in ancient Chinese maps. But although Beijing and Taipei have similar claims, China has been more aggressive in pressing its claim.
“We continue to call on China to act responsibly and refrain from taking further action that will heighten tensions in the region,” Hernandez said.
“The Philippines exercises sovereign rights over the waters and features in the EEZ (exclusive economic zone) and continental shelf in the West Philippine Sea,” he added.
The EEZ is a 200-nautical mile delineation provided by Unclos to allow countries to exclusively explore and exploit the resources of the area.
On Monday, a report from the Chinese government’s web portal said that “routine fishery administrative patrols” will be conducted “to better safeguard the legitimate interests of Chinese fishermen” in the West Philippine Sea.
Wu Zhuang, chief of the South China Sea fishery bureau under the ministry of agriculture, said that carrying out routine fishery patrols in the territorial waters surrounding the Spratly Islands will be the top priority in 2013.
The Philippines and China were signatories to the Unclos, which defined ownership of coastal waters, exclusive economic zones and continental shelves of each country. The Unclos had stated that the 200 nautical mile, exclusive economic zone, which is measured from the country’s coasts belonged to the Philippines and was therefore the only country which is allowed to explore or acquire maritime resources within the area.
Gulf-news.com
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