Palace insists Chinese ships 'intruded' into PHL territory

Malacañang on Wednesday maintained its earlier stance on the alleged intrusion of Chinese vessels into Philippine territory in the South China Sea, despite calls from Chinese authorities to put a stop to such "irresponsible claims." “We are very careful in crafting these statements and we see to it that we back up our statements and base them on facts," deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said at a press briefing. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei had admonished the Philippines to "stop issuing irresponsible comments that are inconsistent with facts." The Philippines earlier denounced the increasing assertiveness of Chinese ships in the area. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the actions of the Chinese vessels in Philippine waters "are serious violations of Philippine sovereignty and maritime jurisdiction and also violate the ASEAN-China Declaration of Conduct on the South China Sea." Last week, Manila conveyed to the Chinese Embassy's Charge d'affaires its "serious concerns" over China's recent actions in the South China Sea. A news release on the DFA website last Wednesday said the sightings included those of a China Marine Surveillance (CMS) vessel and other People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) ships in the vicinity of Iroquois (Amy Douglas) Bank in the West Philippine Sea. "These ships reportedly unloaded building materials, erected an undetermined number of posts, and placed a buoy near the breaker of the Iroquois Bank," the DFA said. Iroquois Bank is located southwest of Recto (Reed) Bank and east of Patag (Flat) Island. According to the DFA, it is "well within the Philippines' 200 nautical miles Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)." The DFA said the posts and buoy placed by the Chinese in the vicinity of Iroquois Bank are about 26 nautical miles east of Patag Island and 125 nautical miles from mainland Palawan. The Philippines and China, as well as Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan, have overlapping claims in in the South China Sea. "Ang lagi nating sinasabi, we stand by what we believe in, and we stand by kung ano po yung atin. Yun lang naman po yung pinapaalala rin natin," Valte said. She further said that the Aquino administration will “reiterate our stand that we will handle these conflicts in the most diplomatic way possible." — LBG/KBK/HS, GMA News