From the Philippine News Agency (Jan 17): PHL to deal with Chinese weapons on man-made islands 'diplomatically' -- Palace
Malacanang emphasized on Tuesday the need to formally deal with the existence of anti-aircraft and anti-missile weapons installed by China on its man-made islands in the South China Sea.
"Aggressive and provocative diplomacy will bring us nowhere so we dealt with the issue formally," Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said in a press statement.
Abella said the Philippines through the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has issued a note verbale to China to protest the weapon systems buildup in the disputed territory.
"The Philippines will continue to assert its sovereignty over disputed territory in the South China Sea while remaining consistent with the efforts of President Duterte to revitalize longstanding ties with China," Abella said.
"As always, we shall staunchly support all efforts to maintain peace and stability in the region," he added.
According to media reports, China installed the weapons systems on all seven of China's newly-constructed artificial islands to guard the area against missile attacks.
The South China Sea or the West Philippine Sea is being partly claimed by China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan.
The Philippines filed arbitration case before The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in 2013 after China seized Panatag Shoal.
On July last year, the United Nations-backed PCA ruled in favor of the Philippines, saying China’s nine-dash line which practically covers almost all of the South China Sea has no basis in international law.
China refused to honor the arbitral tribunal judgment, saying bilateral talks are necessary to settle the dispute.
President Rodrigo Duterte, who was elected only in May 2016, has also said bilateral negotiations are crucial to resolve the territorial dispute.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=955854
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