MANILA (Reuters) -The Philippines rejects any attempt to undermine its national interests, especially by the use of force in the disputed South China Sea, National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano said on Friday.
The Philippines and China have for months accused each other of dangerous manoeuvres involving their ships at the contested Second Thomas Shoal, an atoll within Manila’s 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the South China Sea.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual shipborne commerce, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei.
“We reject any attempt to deny our strategic agencies, especially by the use of force that seek to coerce and subordinate the national interests of the Philippines,” Ano told a forum marking the 8th anniversary of the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s ruling that China’s South China Sea claims have no legal basis.
However, Ano said the Philippines is “committed to the cause of peace”. “We are committed to address and manage difficult issues through dialogue and through diplomacy,” he said.
China does not recognise the 2016 court ruling.
On Friday, the European Union (EU) issued a statement to mark the anniversary of the ruling, saying all parties must “respect and honour the award” which was “legally binding”.
China rebuked the EU for its statement, saying the latter ignored historical and objective facts and “blatantly endorses” what it called the Philippines’ violation of its sovereignty.
United States State Secretary Antony Blinken, in a statement on the ruling’s anniversary, said his country remains “deeply concerned” about China’s actions in the disputed waters.
“We continue to call on the PRC (People’s Republic of China) to abide by the 2016 arbitral ruling, to cease its dangerous and destabilising conduct,” Blinken said.
(Reporting by Mikhail Flores and Karen Lema; Editing by John Mair and Michael Perry)