Beijing, AFP vow peaceful solution to Spratlys row

Despite reports that it has built a lighthouse on Subi reef in the disputed Spratly islands, Beijing insists that it is not violating existing accords with the Philippines and other Southeast Asian nations that claim the disputed territories. China’s top civilian and military leaders assured Philippine authorities on Thursday that Beijing was willing to settle disputes peacefully with the other countries claiming parts of the Spratly and Paracel islands, which are disputed territories in the South China Sea. Chinese ambassador to the Philippines Liu Jianchao said Beijing was willing "to settle disputes with our neighbors who have claims over the national islands." The envoy, however, would not confirm if China had really built a lighthouse on Subi as the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) claimed in a report published by the news group VERA Files on Dec. 8. In an ambush interview at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Thursday, Liu only said "we have to check the report." He also denied that China was violating the Declaration of the Code of Parties in the disputed South China Sea, or DOC, which was signed in November 2002 between China and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) member-countries. Because the DOC — which was drafted to ease tensions in the South China Sea — was not legally binding, China and the Asean countries have been spending the past eight years working to draft a legally binding code. "Of course not, we have always been following the DOC and we will continue to work with our neighbors on the peaceful settlement of the disputes," Liu said. Lighthouse on Subi Reef In its report, VERA Files said China constructed a lighthouse on Subi Reef. According to the report, aerial shots taken in October by the Philippine Air Force on routine reconnaissance flights showed the 20-by-20-meter structure complemented by parabolic antennas and domes on the reef. The reef lies only 26 kilometers southwest of Pag-asa that is part of Kalayaan town, Palawan, the report said. Experts say the lighthouse was intended to expand and fortify China’s claim over the hotly contested Spratly islands, the report also claimed. Under international law, a lighthouse is a recognized base point from where a state can measure its maritime regimes, including territorial sea (12 nautical miles from the baseline), contiguous zone (24 nm), economic exclusive zone (200 nm), continental shelf (200 nm) and extended continental shelf (350nm), the report noted. Called “Zhubi Dao" by China and “Da Su Bi" by Vietnam, Subi Reef surrounds a huge lagoon. China had earlier constructed three-story buildings, wharfs and a helipad there, VERA Files said. AFP echoes Beijing’s stand Top military officials of China and the Philippines also met on Thursday in Beijing, and agreed to address the renewed row over Spratlys through peaceful means. Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Ricardo David Jr., meeting with China's Defense Minister Liang Guanglie and People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Chief of Staff Gen. Chen Bingde, emphasized the Philippine government's commitment to the DOC. “We must maintain peace and unhampered tranquility in the South China Sea," Gen. David told the two top Chinese leaders. “The Philippines is committed to resolve disputes in the South China Sea in the most peaceful way together with China and ASEAN countries," he said. The general was in China as guest of the PLA and the Chinese government. It was his first visit to China since he became AFP Chief of Staff. China’s defense minister, for his part, maintained that Beijing was strictly implementing the DOC, and called on all countries involved to handle disputes in the South China Sea peacefully. "They also agreed to continue discussions to strengthen cooperation between the Philippines and China through the exchange of high-level visits between defense officials and the militaries of both countries," said a DFA statement on Thursday. On Thursday, Malacañang said it is not keen on lodging a diplomatic protest against China over its reported building of a lighthouse in a Philippine-claimed area of the Spratly Islands. The Palace tasked the DFA and the AFP to keep close watch over the matter. Disputed The South China Sea territories — which include the Spratly and Paracel islands –– are believed to be rich sources of minerals and oil reserves. Scattered over an area of 240,000 square kilometers, some 170 islands, shoals, islets, atolls, cays and reefs that extend for about 900 kilometers in the southern part of the South China Sea are collectively known as the Spratly Islands. China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei all lay claim to all or part of the Spratly and Paracel archipelagos and their surrounding waters. Taiwan, which China has been continuously claiming as a Chinese province, has also made an independent claim. All claimants, except Brunei, have a military presence on one or more islands. According to Janes Information Group, which specializes in defense issues, the Spratlys dispute has turned the archipelagos into a mosaic of small and isolated but more or less fortified outposts: A total of 44 features are occupied, with China occupying seven; Vietnam, 25; the Philippines, eight; Malaysia, three; and Taiwan, one. In the past, conflicting claims have occasionally erupted into armed confrontation. Chinese forces seized the western Paracel Islands from Vietnam in 1974 and sank three Vietnamese naval vessels in a 1988 sea battle. China occupied the Mischief Reef in the eastern Spratlys in early 1995. Sun Yi, spokesman of the Chinese embassy in Manila earlier maintained that "China has (an) indisputable sovereignty over Nansha islands and their adjacent waters."—DM/JV, GMANews.TV