South China Sea: Philippines rejects Beijing’s ‘administrative centre’ label on disputed reef
- Experts say Fiery Cross has been developed into one of China’s most advanced bases in the area with missile shelters, structures with retractable roofs, radars and a runway
- China and the Philippines, along with Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan, have been locked for decades in an increasingly tense conflict
The Department of Foreign Affairs issued a statement objecting to what it called China’s “illegal designation” of Fiery Cross Reef as a regional administrative centre in the hotly contested Spratly archipelago.
It’s the latest in a series of disagreements in the sea as Asian nations grapple with the coronavirus pandemic. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused China last week of taking advantage of widespread distraction over the pandemic to advance its territorial claims.
“The Philippines calls on China to adhere to international law,” the department said, reminding Beijing of a 2002 agreement that urged governments with rival claims in the sea to exercise self-restraint and avoid actions that would escalate the disputes and undermine regional stability.
The Philippine government has protested China’s self-declared territorial zones in the waters starting in 2012, with what it said was Beijing’s “unlawful establishment” of a Sansha City covering much of the South China Sea. It said it “does not recognise Sansha nor its constituent units nor any subsequent acts emanating from them”.
The Department of Foreign Affairs cited a July 2016 international arbitration ruling that invalidated China’s sweeping territorial claims in the South China Sea on historical grounds. China refused to participate in the arbitration case, which was initiated by the Philippines, and refused to recognise the ruling.
Last week, the Philippines protested China’s establishment of two districts to administer two disputed groups of islands and reefs in the South China Sea.
