MANILA (Reuters) -The Philippines is not provoking conflict in the South China Sea, its military spokesperson said on Tuesday, responding to China’s accusation that Manila was encroaching on Beijing’s territory.
It was the latest salvo amid rising tension as the two have traded accusations in recent months over a series of maritime run-ins, including China allegedly ramming a ship this month carrying the Philippines’ military chief.
“The Philippines is not provoking conflict,” Medel Aguilar told state broadcaster PTV.
“We follow international law and we are only implementing our domestic law, meaning the limits of our territorial waters and exclusive economic zone, where we have sovereign rights.”
The comments came a day after the People’s Daily, the mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, wrote that the Philippines had relied on U.S. support to continually provoke China.
This “extremely dangerous” behaviour seriously harmed regional…
