China’s diplomatic note to the UN, a copy of which was seen by The Associated Press on Tuesday, said the Philippines’ occupation of some islands and reefs in the Nansha Islands infringes upon China’s sovereignty. Nansha Islands are also known as Spratlys.
The Philippines’ protest filed earlier this month said China’s claim to the islands and nearby geographic features has no basis in international law. The claim was detailed in a map submitted to the UN in 2009.
The Philippines, China, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam claim in whole or in part the Spratlys — a group of islands, reefs and atolls in the South China Sea believed to be sitting atop vast oil and gas reserves.
Vietnam and Malaysia filed protests to the United Nations in 2009 against China’s map, and Indonesia, a non-claimant to the territory, also protested last year.
The protests are registered with the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, which will not rule on a claim if it involves disputed territory unless there is prior consent given by all states involved in the dispute.
China said the contents of the Philippines’ diplomatic note “are totally unacceptable to the Chinese Government.” Manila says the Kalayaan Island Group in the Spratlys was an integral part of the Philippines, and it has sovereignty and jurisdiction over the area under the international law principle that land dominates the sea.
China says its sovereignty is supported by abundant historical and legal evidence.
It said before the 1970s, the Philippines never claimed the islands in a series of treaties defining its territory.
But since then, “the Philippines started to invade and occupy some islands and reefs of China’s Nansha Islands and made relevant territorial claims, to which China objects strongly,” said China’s April 14 note to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.
China said the doctrine that a legal right cannot arise from an unlawful act means the Philippines cannot rightfully claim the islands.
