RSS
Manila, Philippines
Philippine President Benigno Aquino III said the Philippines won't go to war with China over the ongoing territorial dispute in the West Philippine Sea.
Local media quoted Aquino as saying that he is bound to follow the country's constitution, which prohibits war as a national policy. He also said the country's 95 million people have no match against China's 1.3 billion population.
Aquino said Manila will continue to resort to diplomacy in resolving the standoff in Scarborough Shoal and in asserting its sovereignty.
The statement was made as the Chinese embassy in Manila called on the Philippine government to withdraw a coast guard vessel and an archeological vessel off Huangyan island. Both countries are claiming ownership of the island, which the Philippines calls Scarborough Shoal, and its surrounding waters.
The coast guard vessel arrived Monday near the island located 120 nautical miles from the Philippines to relieve a similar ship sent earlier to guard the area after two Chinese surveillance ships prevented a Philippine Navy ship from arresting Chinese fishing vessels in the same area on April 8.
The Chinese embassy said Tuesday that China first discovered the island and incorporated it in its territory. It said the Philippine territory was defined by several international treaties but all did not mention and include Huangyan Island.
The embassy also disputed arguments by the Philippine government that the island's proximity to the Philippines make it part of the latter. It said that international law does not recognize geographical proximity as a basis for territorial ownership.
Twitter: @ihavenet
- China's Social 'Harmony' More Fragile Than It Appears
- Reassessing the Wukan 'Revolution'
- China: The Next Great Leap
- America's Pacific Logic
- The United States in Korea: A Strategy of Inertia
- Despite Missile Failure, North Korea is Still the Big Winner
- North Korea's Failed Fireworks
- On Iran, India Is of Two Minds
- Frightening Prospects for Afghan Women
- Afghanistan: Living in the Kabul Bubble
- Laos: Communal Land Titles Could Save More Than Forests
- Asia Is Up in Arms
- Inching Toward Progress on the North Korean Nuke Problem
- Kim Jong-il and the Normalization of Japan-North Korea Relations
- Japan and Mongolia: Geographic Challenges to Free Trade
- How Myanmar Liberates Asia
- Reassessing International Access in Myanmar
- The Kachin's Role in Myanmar - Chinese Relations
- Afghanistan and the Long War
- Death and Public Relations
- Indonesia: Facing the Stigma of Leprosy
- Learning from Japan's Tsunami
- North Korea's Pivot
- Divided Over North Korean Refugees
- Japan and India: Making Up for Lost Time
- Assessing China's Strategy
- Chinese Computer Games
- Beating China, Corporate Style
- The Future of U.S. - Chinese Relations
- How to Mend U.S. - China Ties
- Afghanistan: War Downsized
- A Look at Central Asia's Drug War
- Pakistan: No Road Home for Sindh Flood Victims
- Maoist Ex-Combatants Threaten to Step Up Protests
- Nepal Celebrates Less-Rowdy Festival of Colors
- Isolation and Poverty Loom for Asia's Aging Population
- Piracy, not China, the Real Issue in Indian Ocean
- Chinese Benefits from Investing in Rason
- China's Looming Pension Crisis
- Don't Expect India to Come to the Rescue
- Burma: After 50 Years of Military Rule Signs Of Real Hope
- Afghanistan: Moving Toward a Distant Endgame
- Drug Problem Adding to Challenge in Afghanistan
- Philippines Weighs Increased U.S. Military Presence
- Philippine Airstrike Targets Militant Network
- Indonesia's Fuel Subsidy Problem
- Australia Rises Up
- Japan's Energy Vulnerability After the Nuclear Disaster
- Henoko and U.S. Military: History of Dependence and Resistance
- Indonesia: No Rice, No Way
- Philippines: Mapping 'Blind' Fault Lines
Copyright © 2012 AHN - All Rights Reserved
