Beijing warns Manila of ‘powerful’ South China Sea toolbox ready for ‘head-on blow’
Beijing had a “rich and powerful” toolkit to use against those who “make waves” in the South China Sea, China’s military mouthpiece warned on Sunday, following efforts by Manila to map out its claim to a disputed shoal. The PLA Daily warning came a day after the Chinese military mounted joint naval and air drills near Scarborough Shoal, a contested group of low-lying rocky islets known as…
China's military newspaper, the PLA Daily, issued a stern warning to Manila on Sunday regarding its actions in the South China Sea. The article, written under the pen name Jun Sheng, or "Voice of the Military," stated that China has a "rich and powerful" toolkit to respond to any attempts to undermine its sovereignty, security, and development interests in the region.
The warning came after Manila filed its official nautical chart for Scarborough Shoal with the United Nations, defining its claims to the shoal's territorial sea baseline and outer limits of its 12-nautical-mile territorial sea and 24-nautical-mile contiguous zone. The PLA Daily described Manila's move as a "nonsense" provocation and accused the Philippines of various disturbances, including intruding vessels and illegal fishing operations in the shoal's lagoon.
The article urged the Philippines to change its course and honor its commitments to China for stabilizing relations. The Chinese foreign ministry also denounced Manila's delimitation move as "illegal, null, and void," adding that China would never accept it. The military drills conducted by China near Scarborough Shoal were seen as a necessary response to countries undermining regional peace and stability.
Written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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