China slams Germany for meddling in South China Sea row

MANILA, Philippines — Insisting anew on its claim of owning almost the entire South China Sea (SCS), China has lashed back at other non-Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries allegedly meddling in the maritime disputes of the region.

“No non-regional country has the right to interfere in the maritime disputes between China and the Philippines,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a press conference last Thursday.

Mao made the statement when asked for comment on German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock’s remarks that rising tensions in the region and China’s dangerous actions against the Philippines in the SCS are of concern for Europe.

“China’s position on the South China Sea issue is clear and consistent,” she said in reaction to the German foreign minister’s statement at a press briefing with Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo last Wednesday.

“We are committed to properly handling disputes through dialogue and consultation with countries concerned, and would like to work with ASEAN countries to safeguard peace and stability in the region. That being said, China will firmly safeguard its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests,” Mao added, as she reiterated China’s stand that the SCS dispute must be resolved by China and the Philippines alone.

Baerbock, who is visiting the Philippines, has expressed concern over how freedom of navigation enshrined in international law, insofar as the SCS and the West Philippine Sea (WPS) is concerned, is affecting other nations.

“The incidents over the recent months where the Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) has used lasers and water cannons against Philippine resupply vessels, and even the collisions that happened, are of concern for us in Europe even if it is thousands of kilometers away,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Chinese embassy in the Philippines yesterday refuted Baerbock’s remarks that Beijing is disrupting the rules-based order and freedom of navigation in the SCS.

“Disregarding basic facts, the German side made unwarranted accusation about China’s South China Sea policy and legitimate and lawful actions,” a Chinese embassy spokesperson in Manila said.

The embassy made the statement after Germany’s foreign minister, in her visit to the Philippines last Thursday, said the CCG’s use of lasers and water cannons against Filipino vessels in the WPS concerned Europe and violated the freedom of navigation in the vital trade route.

Germany also backed the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 2016 arbitral ruling that upheld the Philippines’ sovereignty and invalidated China’s sweeping maritime claims. — Marc Jayson Cayabyab