MANILA, Philippines — China's efforts to land a military plane to a Manila-claimed reef in the South China Sea or West Philippine Sea was provocative, the Department of National Defense (DND) said on Thursday.
"(The landing) is definitely provocative (since) we have always (say) that we will address the issue through peaceful, diplomatic and the approach through UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea)," DND spokesperson Peter Paul Galvez said.
On Sunday, China's navy dispatched a military plane to Kagitingan or Fiery Cross Reef, a part of the Spratly Group of Islands, to pick up three injured construction workers.
A few months ago, the first visitors of China's newly-built airport in the Fiery Cross Reef were wives and children of garrison soldiers and officers on the island.
READ: First Chinese visitors arrive at Kagitingan Reef
Galvez stressed that the government will keep holding on diplomatic options in solving the maritime dispute with China.
"We are hoping UNCLOS will come out with a decision soon so that tensions in the area will ease," Galvez said.
The Philippines earlier filed an arbitration case against China before the Permanent Court of Arbitration under the United Nations, challenging the latter's nine-dash line claim over the disputed waters.
China, however, refused to participate in the proceedings and insisted that they have indisputable sovereignty over the disputed sea. The international tribunal is expected to issue a ruling by May.
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