Chinese Foreign Ministry: China will defend its rights in the South China Sea

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, ignoring competing claims by Southeast Asian countries and an international arbitration ruling that found its position unfounded.

In recent months, tensions have risen between Beijing and the Philippines over the sea following several incidents involving Philippine and Chinese ships. The most recent ship collision happened this week.

“We will legitimately defend our rights by following the law,” Beijing’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi (Wang I) told a news conference on Thursday during China’s annual two-session meeting of lawmakers.

“When it comes to maritime disputes, China has always followed the principle of great restraint,” Wang Yi said at a brief press conference in Beijing.

“However, of course, we do not allow our goodwill to be abused, and we do not accept any distortion or deliberate violation of maritime law,” he said.

The Philippines summoned China’s representative on Tuesday after it said Chinese coast guard vessels twice collided with Filipino vessels and fired water cannons at one of them.

Beijing, for its part, said it had taken control measures against what it said were illegal incursions by Philippine ships into waters claimed by China, and accused a Philippine ship of deliberately ramming a Chinese vessel.

China accused the United States of using the Philippines as a pawn in the South China Sea on Wednesday, amid growing hostility between the two Asian powers over a territorial dispute in the region after Washington condemned the actions of Chinese ships as provocative.

On Thursday, Wang Yi did not mention the United States, but urged “certain non-regional countries not to stir up trouble, take sides, and become troublemakers or troublemakers in the South China Sea.”