Envoy conveys to DFA China's displeasure with RP baseline law

MANILA, Philippines — Beijing is not pleased with the inclusion of the Kalayaan Group of Islands (KIG) and Scarborough Shoal in a baselines law signed by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo this week, according to China’s Embassy in the Philippines. China’s new ambassador to Manila, Liu Jianchiao, conveyed his country’s sentiment to Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo in a courtesy call on Friday, said the Chinese Embassy in a statement. Liu affirmed China’s firm stance that Huangyan Island and Nansha Islands, referring to KIG and Scarborough in the Spratlys chain of islands in the South China Sea, “have always been parts of their territory," said the statement. Liu stressed that “China has indisputable sovereignty over these islands and their adjacent waters," it said. President Arroyo on on Tuesday signed into law Republic Act 9522 or the Philippine Archipelagic Baseline Law, which reaffirms the country’s claim over the more than 7,100 islands in its archipelago, including outlying territories in the disputed Spratlys. The law states that KIG and Scarborough are “regime of islands" under the “Republic of the Philippines." The Spratlys, a cluster of islands, shoals, islets, cays and reefs along the South China Sea, is said to be harboring rich minerals and oil reserves. It is claimed in part or in whole by China , the Philippines, Vietnam , Malaysia and Taiwan. Another claimant-state, Vietnam, had earlier lodged a diplomatic protest against the Philippine law. China’s envoy said despite the disagreement, the Philippines and China should work together to preserve peace and stability in the South China Sea via dialogue. Romulo has taken cognizance of the concerns raised by China, adding that the Philippines will abide by the Declaration of the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, a non-binding agreement signed by the Association of South East Asian Nations and China in 2002, and that it will cooperate with Beijing on the issue. Proponents of the baseline law said the Philippines needed to define its baseline in order to determine its extended continental shelf as mandated by the United Nations. The UN has set May 13 as deadline for countries to define the boundaries of its continental shelf under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. - GMANews.TV