Vessels of the China Coast Guard conduct law enforcement exercises in an undisclosed area in Autumn 2022. Photo: Screenshot from WeChat account of China Coast Guard

 
The US will not shake China's resolve and strong will to safeguard its sovereignty and legitimate rights, no matter how it seeks to use the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) between the Philippines and the US to coerce and smear China on South China Sea affairs, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday.

It was the second consecutive day that China's Foreign Ministry responded to media's concerns over South China Sea affairs.

Recently, some Western media have been constantly hyping up the Philippine's protest and dissatisfaction with law enforcement by the Chinese Coast Guard vessel on February 6. The Reuters said in a report that the Philippines calling the activities "aggressive" in accusing Beijing of using lasers to intercept its ship in the South China Sea.

Wang Wenbin, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said at the routine press conference on Monday that the Chinese Coast Guard vessel exercised professional restraint during on-site operations, facing a Philippines Coast Guard vessel entering waters near the Ren'ai Reef in the South China Sea on February 6 without permission.

Wang responded on Tuesday's routine press briefing that China and the Philippines are in communication through diplomatic channels, adding that the Chinese coast guard vessels carried out the operations in accordance with China's domestic law and international law including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, safeguarding China's sovereignty and maritime order.

The US-Philippine alliance has been maintained since the signing of the Mutual Defense Treaty in 1951, and the treaty applies to the South China Sea for the very first time during then Trump administration, although the two countries did not truly establish an offensive and defensive alliance.

On July 12, 2016, under the manipulation of the US, the arbitral tribunal on the South China Sea arbitration case issued an "arbitral award" at the request of the Aquino III administration of the Philippines. This staged farce has shocked the world by sweepingly denying China's claims in the South China Sea. 

However, the Ren'ai Reef, a ring reef among China's Nansha Islands and as part of the South China Sea, has been part of Chinese territory since ancient times.

"The 'South China Sea arbitration' is a political farce concocted by the US. The so-called award is illegal and invalid and will not have any impact on China's claims of rights in the South China Sea," Wang remarked.

Global Times