BEIJING, (Xinhua): China on condemned the Philippines’ “thief crying stop thief” behavior after Manila organized vessels to illegally intrude into the lagoon of China’s Xianbin Jiao in the South China Sea.
Jiang Bin, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of National Defense, made the remarks in response to Philippines’ false accusations about Chinese maritime law enforcement actions against Philippine personnel near Xianbin Jiao.
“China has indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha Qundao and its adjacent waters, including Xianbin Jiao. This is fully grounded in both history and law,” emphasized the spokesperson.
Jiang said that the Philippines deliberately organized and dispatched a large number of vessels to intrude into the lagoon of Xianbin Jiao illegally. Personnel on the Philippine vessels even brandished knives to threaten Chinese coast guard officers conducting lawful operations, an act that was “utterly egregious in nature”.
“The measures taken by the Chinese side were necessary actions to safeguard its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests,” the spokesperson emphasized. “They were reasonable, lawful, professional, and restrained.”
“Confronted with the facts, certain individuals in the Philippines are telling barefaced lies, resorting to sophistry to deny their own infringing and provocative acts, and even making false accusations against China. This is a complete reversal of right and wrong, and a case of the thief crying ‘stop thief’,” Jiang said.
The spokesperson noted that for some time, the Philippines has frequently created incidents at sea, repeatedly staged self-orchestrated farces, and persistently made unwarranted accusations against China in a deliberate attempt to smear China’s image, muddy the waters in the South China Sea, and undermine regional stability.
“We solemnly warn the Philippines: staging incidents, playing the victim, and hyping propaganda will not alter the nature of the Philippines’ illegal infringement and provocations, will not mislead the international community, and will not shake China’s resolve to safeguard its rights in accordance with the law,” Jiang stressed.
“China will continue to take resolute and effective measures in response to all acts of infringement and provocation,” the spokesperson concluded.
