Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin Thursday warned the Philippines not to complicate the South China Sea situation through "speeches and tricks."
Philippine media reported Thursday that more Chinese ships arrived at Huangyan Island in the South China Sea, where a standoff started after a Philippine warship tried to warn off Chinese fishermen but was stopped by Chinese surveillance ships last month.
The Philippine news website abs-cbnnews.com quoted Armed Forces Northern Luzon Command spokesman Captain Aurello Kigis as saying that there are now 14 Chinese vessels in this area, including three maritime surveillance ships and a fisheries law enforcement command vessel.
At a regular press conference Thursday in Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin did not comment on the reported presence of Chinese ships near Huangyan Island, but reiterated China's stance that the earlier incident was caused by the Philippine side harassing Chinese fishing boats in Chinese territory.
"We hope the Philippines and China can solve the situation through diplomatic means instead of escalating, complicating and internationalizing the matter through continued speeches and tricks," said Liu, adding that China will directly negotiate with the relevant country in disputes concerning the South China Sea.
The Philippines has deployed the Coast Guard's BRP Edsa Dos and a ship from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources to the area. There were six other Philippine fishing vessels in the area last Sunday, but it is not known how many have remained as of Wednesday, according to abs-cbnnews.com.
Two Chinese surveillance ships were ordered on April 10 to protect the Chinese fishermen there and managed to shield the Chinese fishing boats from the warship.
In a bid to de-escalate the situation, China withdrew two law enforcement vessels, and only left a surveillance ship there on April 24.
However, a similar response did not come from the Philippine side, which called for help from bigger powers, while asking for more ships and planes to be deployed in the area.