China claims sovereignty over Scarborough Shoal; PH says it has no legal basis

BEIJING/MANILA - China has indisputable sovereignty over the Scarborough Shoal and its adjacent waters, and has always resolutely countered infringements by the Philippines, a spokesperson for China Coast Guard (CCG) said in a statement released late Tuesday. The Philippines' National Security Adviser Secretary Eduardo Año however said China's claims have no legal basis in international law.

The CCG spokesperson said four Philippine personnel illegally intruded in certain areas on Jan. 28, and the Coast Guard warned them to leave in accordance with the law. The interaction was "professional and standardized", according to the statement.

Accusations and runs-in have occurred frequently between the two countries over the past year over disputed territorial areas of the South China Sea.

China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, which has angered neighboring countries that dispute some boundaries they say cut into their exclusive economic zones.

"China's Coast Guard will, as always, defend and enforce" the law in waters under the country's jurisdiction, the statement said, citing the spokesperson.

China routinely conducts patrols of the South China Sea even as tensions simmer between it and the Philippines, which recently had its own joint military patrol in the region with its ally — the United States — drawing the ire of China.

The CCG spokesperson said the Coast Guard will firmly safeguard national sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.

In a statement sent to GMA News Online, Año said under international law, the Philippines exercises sovereign rights and jurisdiction over Scarborough Shoal, also called Bajo de Masinloc or Panatag Shoal, as well as the waters and continental shelf surrounding it.

"China's repeated claims of sovereignty over Bajo de Masinloc has no basis in international law or in fact. International law is clear. China cannot, therefore, lawfully exercise sovereignty over it. As clearly stated by the 2016 arbitral award, UNCLOS superseded any ‘historic rights’ as claimed by China," he said, referring to United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

"Therefore, China cannot claim entitlements in areas of the 'nine-dashed line,' now '10-dashed line,' that exceed UNCLOS limits," he added.

GMA News Online also contacted Malacañang and the Armed Forces of the Philippines and is awaiting their statements.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday said the South China Sea remains to be a "point of contention".

Marcos said this during his courtesy call on Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Ching as part of his two-day visit to Vietnam.

Marcos said the Philippines continues to uphold the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

He stressed that there continues to be the undertaking of "unilateral and illegal actions that violate our sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction, and exacerbate tensions in the South China Sea."

He vowed that the Philippines would continue to defend its sovereignty against any provocations in the region, noting that it will continue to address issues with China in a peaceful way.

"At the same time, we are also seeking to address these issues with China through peaceful dialogue and consultations as two equal sovereign states,” Marcos said.

In December last year, the CCG fired a water cannon at the vessels of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) headed to Scarborough Shoal.

The BFAR vessels were on a mission to distribute oil and other supplies to fisherfolk in the area.

On January 12 this year, Zambales fishermen said the CCG ordered them to return the shells they collected from the sea near the south entrance of the Bajo de Masinloc. —with a report from Anna Felicia Bajo/Reuters/KG