Picture obtained by the Global Times on May 13, 2024 shows China Coast Guard following and monitoring Philippine vessels in the South China Sea. Photo: Courtesy of China Coast Guard

China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday slammed remarks of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, saying the so-called arbitral award on the South China Sea is illegal, null and void and China will continue to defend its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights.

"Those remarks disregard history and facts and are designed to amplify the Philippines' wrongful position on the issues concerning the South China Sea and deliberately distort and hype up the maritime situation," a spokesperson from the ministry said in a statement on Monday. 

The Philippines has been frequently trespassing into waters off Chinese islands and reefs in the South China Sea since August 2023 under the instigation of the US. In his keynote speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Friday, Marcos cited treaties including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 2016 arbitral award on the South China Sea, which he claimed established a legal framework for all marine and maritime activities.

Marcos said that UNCLOS also clarified the limits of each state's maritime zones, and defined the extent with which they could exercise sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction over those zones.

China has indisputable sovereignty over Nanhai Zhudao, and sovereign rights and jurisdiction over its relevant waters. China's normal patrol, law enforcement and productive activities in waters under its own jurisdiction are consistent with international law, including UNCLOS, and such activities are beyond reproach, the Chinese spokesperson stressed. 

The Chinese government's statement has unequivocally declared that the responsibility for the current tension in the South China Sea lies primarily with the Philippines and China's approach is for peace and stability in the region, adopting a highly rational, moderate and responsible attitude, Dai Fan, vice dean of the School of International Studies at the Guangzhou-based Jinan University, told the Global Times. 

The responsibility for the recent escalation over the South China Sea issue between China and the Philippines lies fully with the Philippine side, the spokesperson stressed, explaining that the Philippines breached its commitments and common understandings with China, violated the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) and repeatedly acted in bad faith. 

Also, the Philippines frequently infringed on China's rights and made provocations at sea, brought in forces from outside the region to form blocs and flex muscles in the South China Sea, and spread disinformation to vilify China and mislead international perception on this matter, the spokesperson noted. 

The spokesperson from the ministry said China will continue to firmly defend its territorial sovereignty and maritime interests and rights and urged the Philippines to honor its commitments, fully and effectively implement the DOC, and stop maritime infringement activities and provocations at once.

China has exercised enough restraint in the face of infringements and provocations, but there is a limit, Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun warned Sunday when introducing China's approach to global security on the closing day of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, without naming the Philippines. 

In his speech, Marcos repeatedly mentioned the US, saying that the presence of the US was "crucial to regional peace," as his country faces what it perceived as growing Chinese pressure in waters off its coastline.

The spokesperson directly rebuked the US in the statement. "Driven by selfish geopolitical calculations, the US has played an extremely ignoble role by supporting and assisting the Philippines in infringing on China's sovereignty, and by exploiting the South China Sea issue to drive a wedge between China and other regional countries." 

The Chinese spokesperson asked, "Who exactly does the Philippine foreign policy serve now? Whose bidding is the Philippines doing with all these maritime actions?", saying that the answer is pretty clear to anyone with sound judgement. 

The current foreign policy of the Philippines as well as its policy toward China, and its South China Sea policy are currently deviating from the track of serving the national interests of the Philippines, and in fact are serving the interests of the US, Dai noted. 

The Chinese spokesperson stressed in the statement that through the joint efforts of China and ASEAN countries, the situation in the South China Sea is generally stable. 

While verbally saying that the Philippines upholds the centrality of ASEAN, in reality, through its actions, it is colluding with external powers to jointly counter China, Dai said. "The Philippines has betrayed regional peace and stability."