Teodoro: No country supports China's claim over whole of South China Sea

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. on Wednesday said no country is supportive of China’s claim over the whole of the South China Sea.

Teodoro issued the remark in response to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs saying that the Philippines is provoking activities and creating trouble in the South China Sea.

“My response to that is that only China believes in what they are saying. Truth and, in fact, no country in the world, none, supports unequivocally their claim to the whole of the South China Sea,” Teodoro said in an ambush interview.

In addition to the Philippines, ASEAN members Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei have overlapping claims with China in parts of the South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual ship-borne commerce.

The Philippines includes areas of the South China Sea that falls within its exclusive economic zone and continental shelf as part of the West Philippine Sea.

A Reuters report said China "will keep the door of dialogue and contact open," quoting a spokesperson for its embassy in Manila as saying in a statement later on Wednesday.

"China has always advocated and remains committed to properly managing maritime differences through dialogue and consultation," the embassy's spokesperson said.

Pressure China

Last week, Teodoro said the Philippines and the international community should pressure China into behaving responsibly amid tensions in the disputed waters.

He said China is also using “swarming tactics” in the Philippines' exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

When sought for comment at the time, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said they hoped the Philippines would “face up to the root cause of the issue, stop making provocations and creating trouble, and safeguard peace and stability” in the West Philippine Sea.

In contrast, Teodoro said many supported the Philippines' sovereignty.

“Now on the Philippine side, a lot of countries support our sovereignty and jurisdiction and sovereign rights over the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and other areas where we have territorial jurisdiction, and no country in the world, none, to this type has condemned the Philippines in what it is doing,” he said.

In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration concluded  that China has no legal basis to claim historic rights to resources within the sea areas falling within the ‘nine-dash line.’

China, however, has said that it does not recognize the ruling.

The Philippine government is also eyeing to file an environmental case against China over concerns in the WPS by 2024.  — RSJ, GMA Integrated News