China concerned over Philippines hyping up S.China Sea issue

BEIJING - China is seriously concerned over the incumbent Philippino government's ballyhooing the South China Sea issue, whipping up contradictory feelings between the people of the two countries, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying said Monday.

China has noticed a documentary about the South China Sea and related reports in the Philippines, Hua said in a press release.

The Philippino foreign ministry, presidential press office and press bureau jointly made a three-episode documentary film in the official Tagalog language, in which it accused China of nibbling Philippino territories and pillaging resources that should belong to the Philippines.

Spokespersons of the Philippino foreign ministry, defense department and armed forces all said the film aimed to raise the public's awareness of the importance of the territories in the South China Sea and to unite forces of the whole country behind the government on resolving the disputes.

China expressed strong dissatisfaction over the Philippino documentary film's unreasonable and unfounded accusations by ignoring facts and calling white black, Hua said.

"The Chinese side also expresses serious concern over the practice of the incumbent Philippino government in making a fanfare about the South China Sea issue and instigating feelings of contradiction between the Chinese and Philippino people," Hua said.

She pointed out that the Philippino side attempted to win sympathy and create a false "victim" image of itself by means of misleading and lying. But she said history cannot be overwritten and facts cannot be fabricated.

"It is merely the Philippines' expansionist policy and blatant infringement on China's sovereignty and interests that has given rise to the China-Philippines disputes over the South China Sea," Hua said.

She pointed out that the islands in the South China Seas belong to China. She said China was the first one to discover, name and develop these islands. It was also the first country to conduct sovereign jurisdiction on these islands and has remained so since then, Hua said.

"This is proven by adequate historical and legal evidence," Hua said.

She said Japan occupied the islands in South China Sea during its war of aggression against China. The Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation, on which the post-war international order is founded,demanded Japan return the territories it stole from China. After World War II, the Chinese government took back the islands in the South China Sea.

"The root of the China-Philippines dispute on the South China Sea lies in the illegal territorial claim that the Philippino side raised on part of China's Nansha Islands and its occupation of some of the islands," Hua said.

She pointed out that the legal documents determining the territorial scope of the Philippines, including the Paris Treaty and Washington Treaty signed between the United States and Spain in 1898 and 1900, and the Treaty between the United States and Britain signed in 1930, have all excluded China's Nansha Islands and Huangyan Island from Philippino territories. She said in a long period of time after, the internal laws of the Philippines, including the constitution, have repeatedly reaffirmed the stipulations on Philippino territories that the above mentioned treaties have made, Hua said.

She said after the end of the World War II, especially after the beginning of the Cold War, the Philippines began to covet China's Nansha Islands. Since the 1970s, the Philippines has used force to occupy eight of China's Nansha Islands one by one, including Mahuan Island, Feixin Island, Zhongye Island, Beizi Island, Nanyao Island, Xiyue Island, Shuanghuang Shoal and Siling Reef.

Hua said over the long years, the Philippines has conducted a great number of construction and arms deployments on the stolen islands, continuously built and upgraded airports, docks, barracks, elevated houses, schools and other facilities.

"China has always firmly opposed the illegal occupation by the Philippino side and repeatedly and sternly demanded they withdraw all personnel and facilities from the islands of China," Hua said.