Philippine actions in S China Sea ‘extremely dangerous’: China

BEIJING: Chinese state media accused the Philippines on Monday of repeatedly infringing on China’s territory in the South China Sea, spreading false information and colluding with extraterritorial forces to cause trouble.

The Philippines has relied on US support to continually provoke China, with such “extremely dangerous” behaviour seriously harming regional peace and stability, China’s Communist Party mouthpiece, the People’s Daily, wrote in a commentary on Monday.

The Philippines foreign ministry and a national task force handling the South China Sea did not immediately respond on Christmas Day to requests for comment on the report. Tensions between Beijing and Manila have heightened in recent months as both sides trade accusations over a spate of run-ins in the South China Sea, including charges that China rammed a ship this month carrying the Philippine armed forces chief of staff.

China claims most of the South China Sea, parts of which are also claimed by the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam and Indonesia. An international tribunal in 2016 invalidated China’s claim in a ruling on a case brought by the Philippines, which Beijing rejects.

In an unusually direct warning, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said last week any miscalculation in the dispute with the Philippines would bring a resolute response from China, and called for dialogue to address “serious difficulties”.