MANILA/BEIJING, Sept 12 (Askume) – The Philippines said on Thursday it would stick to its position on the Sabina Shoal issue during “frank” talks with China on managing disputes over key waterways in the South China Sea. method.
The Southeast Asian nation’s continued presence at a site designed to monitor China’s small-scale land reclamation activities has angered Beijing and the site has become its latest flashpoint in the disputed waters.
At a meeting of officials in Beijing on Wednesday, China vowed to “resolutely safeguard sovereignty”There have been repeated calls for the immediate withdrawal of Philippine Coast Guard ships that have been anchored off the Philippine coast since April.
Philippine Deputy Foreign Secretary Teresa Lazaro posted a photo of herself shaking hands with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Chen Xiaodong and said, “I reiterated the Philippines’ consistent position and discussed ways to ease tensions.”
“We agreed to continue discussions on areas of cooperation, particularly the hotline mechanism, coast guard cooperation and marine science and technology cooperation.”
The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that there was a frank and candid exchange of views between the two.
Sabina Shoal (known as Jianbin Reef in China and Escoda Shoal in Manila) lies 150 kilometres (93 mi) west of the Philippine province of Palawan and within its exclusive economic zone.
two countriesEach accused the other of deliberately ramming the other’s ships during last month’s clash. The incident came shortly after an agreement was reached on a resupply mission to a Philippine Navy ship stranded off the coast of Second Thomas Shoal.
China claims sovereignty over much of the China Sea, including waters off Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
In 2016, an arbitral tribunal in The Hague rejected China’s broad and historical claims, but China rejects the award.
The Philippine Navy said it recently monitored 207 Chinese vessels, including “maritime militia vessels,” within the country’s exclusive economic zone, dozens of which were spotted near Sabina Shoal.
