The Chinese Embassy in the Philippines on Monday said the West Philippine Sea is a “traditional fishing ground” for Chinese fishermen.
The embassy made the statement in response to the diplomatic protest filed by the Department of Foreign Affairs over the presence of Chinese vessels in the Julian Felipe Reef in April.
More than 100 Chinese vessels were found illegally operating in the maritime waters of Julian Felipe Reef, which is within the territorial sea of the Kalayaan Island Group on April 4, 2022, the DFA said.
However, Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian said the DFA and the Chinese government have contradicting claims over the maritime issue.
Nonetheless, Huang said this is just a small part of the relationship between the two countries.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Embassy has yet to comment on the latest diplomatic protest filed by the DFA, this time in connection with China’s maritime activities within Manila’s 200-mile exclusive economic zone.
The DFA has already lodged more than 300 complaints against Beijing’s “illegal” activities in the West Philippine Sea, a part of the vast South China Sea that Manila claims.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea and continues to assert its presence in the strategic waterway, despite an arbitration ruling in 2016 invalidating Beijing’s excessive claims.
Meanwhile, Senator-elect Alan Peter Cayetano said the West Philippine Sea dispute between the Philippines and China can be solved, with the first step being face-to-face diplomacy to defuse the increasingly heated situation in the sea.
Cayetano, who served as Foreign Affairs secretary from 2017 to 2018, said there is always a peaceful way to resolve such issues.
“I’m a believer in diplomacy,” he said.
Cayetano encouraged the incoming administration to defuse the situation by carrying out face-to-face diplomacy with President Xi Jinping right away.
“My personal recommendation is as soon as possible to have a one-on-one meeting between President-elect Marcos and President Xi Jinping,” Cayetano said.
Cayetano said diplomacy works better than “megaphone or microphone diplomacy” where public statements are issued instead of having actual conversations behind closed doors.
