By Franz-Stefan Gady
Philippine officials renew their attack on China’s alleged aggression in disputed waters.
Over the weekend, the Philippine Department of National Defense once more attacked China’s purported aggression in the South China Sea, calling Beijing’s announcement that it is committed to peace “deceitful rhetoric,” according to AFP.
“The Chinese leadership should go beyond deceitful rhetoric claiming peaceful efforts before their aggression takes a greater and irreparable toll on the region and beyond,” Peter Paul Galvez, a defense department spokesman stated in a statement last Sunday.
China has pushed its territorial claims in the South China Sea vis-à-vis the Philippines with vehemence. Among other things, Beijing has seized Scarborough Shoal – a shoal located between the Macclesfield Bank and Luzon island that is claimed by China, Taiwan, and the Philippines – from Manila in 2012 and continues to prevent the latter from carrying out oil and gas explorations in what the Philippines consider its territorial waters.
Read the full story at The Diplomat