China Coast Guard: China urges the Philippines to tow the "Sitan" warship from Ren'ai Reef. China Coast Guard | Ren'ai Reef | Spokesperson
Q: The Philippine Coast Guard and Armed Forces have stated that on August 5th, the Chinese Coast Guard intercepted and used water cannons to attack a Philippine warship carrying rotating personnel and supplies in the waters off Ren'ai Reef in Nansha, violating international law. The Philippines strongly condemns this. May I ask if the Chinese side has any comments on this?
A: Ren'ai Reef has always been part of China's the Nansha Islands. In 1999, a Philippine warship illegally "docked" at Ren'ai Reef, and the Chinese side immediately made solemn representations. The Philippine side has repeatedly made clear commitments to tow the "Zuotan" warship, but 24 years have passed. Not only did the Philippine side not tow the warship, but they also attempted to carry out large-scale maintenance and reinforcement, achieving permanent occupation of Ren'ai Reef. This move by the Philippines seriously infringes on China's sovereignty, violates its own commitments, and violates international law and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea signed between China and ASEAN countries.
China urges the Philippines to tow the "Sitan" warship from Ren'ai Reef and restore the original state of Ren'ai Reef. At the same time, from a humanitarian perspective, temporary special arrangements have been made for the transportation of necessary daily necessities such as food by the Philippine warship "Zuotan". But for a period of time, the Philippines has been carrying a large amount of construction materials onto ships under the pretext of personnel rotation and transportation of daily necessities. China has repeatedly expressed serious concerns to the Philippines through diplomatic channels and suggested that both sides discuss how to control the situation on Ren'ai Reef, but the Philippines refused to respond to this.
Recently, after learning that the Philippines will carry out a new round of transportation and replenishment of Ren'ai Reef, China has made negotiations with the Philippines at multiple levels and through various channels, demanding that the Philippines not send ships to enter Ren'ai Reef without authorization and not transport construction materials for large-scale maintenance and reinforcement to the "sitting beach" warship. On August 5th, despite repeated dissuasions and warnings from the Chinese side, the Philippines insisted on sending two ships to illegally enter the waters of Ren'ai Reef, violating the Declaration of Conduct of All Parties in the South China Sea and attempting to transport construction materials for repair and reinforcement to the illegal "sitting on the beach" warship. Chinese coast guard ships were lawfully intercepted and warning enforcement measures were taken. In the event that multiple warnings were ineffective, water cannons were used to implement warnings in order to avoid direct interception and collision. The on-site operation was professional and restrained, which is beyond reproach.
The Chinese side's position on the Ren'ai Reef issue is clear and firm. China will continue to take necessary measures to firmly safeguard its territorial sovereignty, and once again calls on the Philippines to accept China's suggestions and discuss specific measures to control the situation on Ren'ai Reef through negotiations.