MERGED: RP-China Territorial Dispute, Related Events and Updates

[abuot]

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ka mga hangol gyud aning mga nasura oi..

[pxguy2]

angay ning hunongon kai disgusting kaayo ni para sa mga Pilipino

[ngano-diay?]

di sab giod ko mo sugot nga tag nako made in china da!

[neox30]

atik ni oi

[Motownkid]

asa man padung ang halin?

[INFRACTION]

ang gaba dili mo saba... gi linog na tawn ang China ayaw mog kabalaka...

[macme]

sad but true

[tools4kools]

China: Philippine Sovereign Claims Harms *****eral Ties with China
February 20, 2009

BEIJING, CHINA: The Philippine Congress' approval of an archipelago baseline bill this week is "harmful" to its relations with China, state media said Friday (20 Feb), stoking official anger at Manila's territorial claim over several tiny islands which make up the Spratly chain in the South China Sea.

"The Philippines' latest claim on Huangyan and other islands of Nansha Islands, in defiance of China's severe concern and representations on many occasions, is harmful to *****eral relations," Xinhua News Agency said in a commentary.

"The Philippines should abide by the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea issued by Asean member countries and China in 2002 and refrain from actions that may complicate and expand disputes."

Xinhua said the "best choice" for the Philippines was to proceed from the interest of the peoples of the two countries and the peace and stability of the South China Sea.

The Philippines referred to the disputed islands as Scarborough Shoal and the Kalayaan Island Group.

China's Foreign Ministry had denounced the claim as "illegal and invalid" and Vice Foeign Minister Wang Guangya on Wednesday (18 Feb) summoned Filipino charged' affaires Maria Barber to lodge a protest.

The Spratlys is made up of several hundred islets, reefs and atolls. It lies on strategic shipping lanes and is said to be rich in oil and gas reserves.

It is claimed in whole or in part by China, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam and Taiwan.

Vietnam Asserts Archipelago Sovereignty Despite Philippines' Bill
February 20, 2009

HANOI: Any activities undertaken by foreign countries regarding Vietnam's Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagoes without Vietnam's express permission will be viewed as violations of Vietnam's sovereign rights and are legally invalid, Vietnam News Agency (VNA) quoted the Vietnamese foreign ministry's spokesman as saying.

Speaking during a regular press briefing here on Thursday (19 Feb), spokesman Le Dung reiterated that Vietnam possesses a sufficient historical and legal basis to prove its sovereign rights over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagoes.

He made this confirmation in response to Philippine legislators' 17 Feb approval of a Philippine bill, which mandates that several islands in the Truong Sa archipelago and Scarborough Shoal are considered as being under the sovereign rule of the Philippines.

"While seeking a fundamental and long-term solution to the disputes over these archipelagoes, the parties concerned should observe the 1982 UN Convention of the Law of the Sea and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and refrain from undertaking any actions to complicate the situation, contributing to maintaining peace and stability in the region," Dung said.

[The_Child]

the nice thing about it, is we dont have a decent military force to actualize those claim.

[unsay_ngalan_nimo]

GMA signs Baselines Bill into law, triggers China protest | The Philippine Star >> News >> Headlines

GMA signs Baselines Bill into law, triggers China protest
By Paolo Romero and Pia Lee-Brago Updated March 12, 2009 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - President Arroyo has signed the law defining Philippine territory, sparking protests from China over control of strategic South China Sea islands, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said yesterday.

“We are sending the message to the whole world that we are affirming our national sovereignty… our national interest as an independent country,” Ermita said.

China, which also claims sovereignty over Scarborough Shoal, “strongly opposed” the signing of Republic Act 9522 known as the Philippine Baseline Act, which defines Philippine territorial waters and maintains the country’s claim over the disputed Spratly Islands (Kalayaan Island Group or KIG) in the South China Sea and Scarborough Shoal.

Vietnam, which also has long-running claims in the Spratlys, also opposed the move.

In a statement, the Chinese embassy in Manila said the inclusion of the Huangyan Island and some islands and reefs of Nansha Islands in the Baseline Act as Philippine territory is “illegal, invalid” and totally unacceptable to the Chinese government.

“The Chinese embassy hereby expresses strong opposition and solemn protest and reiterates that Huangyan Island and Nansha Islands have always been part of Chinese territory and that the People’s Republic of China has indisputable sovereignty over these islands and their adjacent waters,” the embassy said.

Ermita said Mrs. Arroyo signed the bill on Tuesday without fanfare as the law was just a “technical and clinical adjustment” on the country’s baselines to comply with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) that was adopted by the world body in 1982 and ratified by the Philippines in 1992.

The UN has asked the Philippines and other countries that signed the UNCLOS to submit the dimensions of their continental shelf by May 13. The convention, which came into force in 1994, defines the maritime limits of signatories.

Henry Bensurto, secretary-general of the Commission on Maritime and Ocean Affairs, said the Philippines passed the law not to reiterate its claims over the Spratlys and Scarborough Shoal but to define the baseline used to determine its extended continental shelf.

He and Ermita downplayed the Chinese embassy’s fresh protest, saying the protests were expected and can be handled by the mechanisms in the Code of Conduct entered into by members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China to peacefully resolve claims over the disputed islands.

“We should negotiate through peaceful means our claims because there are six claimants… but there’s agreement in the Code of Conduct on how to settle claims so we don’t resort to any force to settle (the dispute). We want to highlight that,” Ermita said.

“We’re mindful that we claim these islands… we’re also mindful of the definition of national interest that we’re not isolated and we interact with other nations. We have factored in that we are part of a community. We took into account the various agreements, including the Code of Conduct that was pushed by the Philippines,” Bensurto said.

“We’re hopeful other countries will understand that when we passed this law for the purpose of complying with UNCLOS, we were mindful of the ASEAN Declaration on the Code of Conduct.”

Under the new law, the KIG and Scarborough Shoal, which is just over a hundred nautical miles from Zambales, are not part of the territorial baselines but part of the country’s territory as a “regime of islands.”

Ermita said the new law amended two previous laws that were enacted prior to UNCLOS. The new baselines were necessary for the purpose of identifying the Philippines’ contiguous zone, territorial waters, exclusive economic zones and continental shelf.

Under the new law, 24 nautical miles from the baselines was the country’s territorial area, 200 miles from them would be the exclusive economic zone, and 350 nautical miles out would be the exclusive continental shelf.

Caught by surprise

Sources said Chinese diplomats were unaware that the bill was already signed into law when they accompanied Ambassador Liu Jianchao, former spokesperson of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to Malacañang yesterday for the presentation of his credentials.

After Congress passed the legislation last month, Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Wang Guangya summoned a Philippine embassy official in Beijing and said Manila’s claims over the two regions “were illegal and invalid,” China’s official Xinhua news agency said.

It cited Wang as saying the Philippines should take into consideration *****eral relations as well as peace and stability in the South China Sea.

Vietnam also urged the Philippines to refrain from taking action that might complicate the dispute.

The Spratlys, believed to be rich in oil, gas and fish, consist of about 100 barren islets, reefs and atolls dotting the world’s busiest shipping lanes in the South China Sea.

Vietnam, China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei each claim all or part of the low-lying islands. – With AP


map showing china's claim and UNCLOS
BBC NEWS | World | Asia-Pacific | US and China try to resolve row