Manila rejects PRC sovereignty claim in South China SeaReuters, MANILAThe Philippines yesterday said that it rejects Beijing’s assertion of sovereignty over the entire South China Sea, disputing a claim by China’s embassy that a Filipino diplomat had once conceded the disputed Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) was not part of Philippine territory. A Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy ship, rear, sails past a Philippine fishing boat near the Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea on Sept. 2 last year. Photo: AFPThe remarks are the latest in a war of words between Philippine officials and the Chinese embassy in Manila over disputes in the South China Sea. The Philippines and China both lay claim to Scarborough Shoal, which is effectively under Beijing’s control through continuous deployment of its coast guard. The Philippines won a landmark case at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016 that found China’s sweeping claim of sovereignty in the South China Sea had no basis under international law, a decision that Beijing continuously rejects.
