DND reiterates call to China to stop reclamation in West PH Sea

The Department of National Defense has repeated its call to China to stop its reclamation activities in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

“We reiterate that their illegal island building if not stopped only draws the world closer to further uncertainties and untoward incidents with irreparable consequences,” defense spokesperson Peter Paul Galvez said on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, China said it completed some of its land reclamation on the Spratly Islands in the West Philippine Sea “in recent days.”

In recent months, China has made significant progress in its construction activities in the disputed maritime superhighway, which has raised concern among the neighboring claimants including the Philippines. China has been doing reclamation works on seven reefs, turning it into artificial islands.

China did not say which areas had been finished.

G7 countries—Germany, Britain, Canada, France, Italy, Japan and the United States—have also expressed concern on China’s construction activities.

“As for the next step, China will begin fulfilling the relevant functions of the facilities,” said China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying.

Galvez said China should “refrain from militarizing the region.”

“The Chinese government should refrain from militarizing the region, stop deceiving their constituents and submit to the call of all nations for them to peacefully abide by the internationally accepted rules as stipulated in United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,” he said.

China claims most parts of the West Philippine Sea, believed to be rich in oil and gas.