Philippine vessel withdraws from reef

China has successfully safeguarded its territorial sovereignty with the Philippines withdrawing its unlawfully anchored vessel from Xianbin Reef in the South China Sea on Saturday afternoon after five-month illegal halt, and China will take countermeasures if Philippines continues its political provocations, said military experts.

The Philippine Coast Guard vessel No 9701 was illegally anchored near the Xianbin Reef since April 17, during which time, China took several necessary measures to warn and control the vessel in accordance with the law, deterring several Philippine attempts to carry supplies to the vessel.

Liu Dejun, spokesman of the China Coast Guard, said on Sunday the Philippines' move to illegally strand the vessel severely infringed on China's sovereignty and is a breach of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, which was signed by China and the members of ASEAN in 2002, and damaged regional peace and stability.

He said the Philippines should stop hyping the issue and infringing on China's sovereignty, and move in the same direction with China to protect the validity of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.

He stressed that China has indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha Islands, including Xianbin Reef, and the adjacent waters. The China Coast Guard will take necessary measures to firmly safeguard national territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.

Zhang Junshe, a former researcher at the Naval Research Academy, said that Philippines' attempts to transport supplies to its vessel during its illegal halt at Xianbin Reef under the garb of "humanitarian aid" was a lame excuse.

"It is the Philippines' largest and modern vessel on active service, which has been put into use in recent years, so 'humanitarian aid' is purely an excuse for its scheme of unlawfully anchoring near the reef and jostling with China for the reef," he said.

He added that Philippines tried to test China's resolve in safeguarding its territorial sovereignty by keeping the vehicle stranded for such a long time. It was also hoping for a favorable response from the United States. "But China's mighty deterrence and the slim chance of getting support from the US finally made Philippines leave in dismay."

He said the vessel's withdrawal proved that China's policies and measures for coping with South China Sea issues are appropriate. The nation always insists on handling disputes through peaceful means such as negotiations and talks, it respects historical facts and behaves in accordance with international laws.

The military expert added that the possibility of Philippines continuing its political provocations in the future by sending another vessel to the South China Sea cannot be ruled out as it has played unreasonable and shameless tricks in the region in recent years.

"China will definitely take countermeasures to defend national territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests," he said.