Marcos on China proposals: No country accepts 10-dash line

BERLIN—The Philippines is not rejecting China's proposals to resolve issues in the South China Sea but is questioning its neighbor's premise based on its ten-dash-line map, President Ferdinand "Bongbong"Marcos Jr. said on Tuesday.

At a joint press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Marcos indicated that the Philippines continued to question China's historical claims.

''We have not rejected any proposals that China has made for us but the premise is something that we question," Marcos said.

"That premise that China has made is that their territory follows what is now called as the ten-dash line. This is not recognized by any country, any international body, certainly not by the Philippines,'' he added.

Marcos said the Philippines' baselines had been well-established for years.

"We have the economic zone that China has already intruded upon and until that premise, that China has made in terms of all these discussions with the Philippines, it is very difficult to see a way forward,'' Marcos said.

Marcos said that when he took office, his duty was to defend the country's territory.

''The first article of the Constitution of the Philippines is the article that describes and defines the territorial area, maritime, and land-based territory of the Philippines. It is my duty, I have no choice, but to defend that and we will continue to defend that,'' Marcos said.

Earlier, the Department of Foreign Affairs said that only a few of China's proposals on the South China Sea were "somewhat workable," while many were contrary to the interest of the Philippines.

The DFA disclosed that it had received several concept papers from China on various maritime-related proposals last year. It said that any agreement with a foreign government should be in the mutual interest.

"While a few proposals were deemed somewhat workable, many of the remaining Chinese proposals were determined, after careful study, scrutiny, and deliberation within the Philippine Government, to be contrary to our national interests," the DFA said in a statement.

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin replied to the DFA statement by saying that "China has indisputable sovereignty over Nanhai Zhudao."

"There’s no territorial disputes between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea. Proceeding from its bilateral relationship with the Philippines and peace and stability in the South China Sea, China has made proposals to the Philippines on managing the situation at sea and carrying out maritime cooperation," he said.

"It fully shows China’s sincerity and goodwill in standing ready to manage differences through negotiation and consultation. Regrettably, the Philippines has not yet responded to most of the proposals and made frequent infringements and provocations at sea. Such moves seriously undermine the atmosphere of communication and cooperation between China and the Philippines. China’s position on the South China Sea issue is consistent. We stand ready to continue to work with the Philippines to properly handle differences through dialogue and consultation. At the same time, we will take resolute measures to firmly safeguard our territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests," he said.

The DFA issued the remark in reaction to a newspaper article that quoted a Chinese official as saying the Philippines had ignored China's proposals on the sea row.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration concluded in 2016 that China had no legal basis to claim historic rights to resources within the sea areas falling within its "nine-dash line."

In Australia last week, Marcos said the Philippines would push back against China in case its sovereignty in the region will be ignored.  —NB, GMA Integrated News