On Friday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a strong protest against the Philippines’ recent enactment of two significant maritime laws—the Maritime Zones Act and the Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act. These laws, according to China’s statement, serve to bolster Manila’s maritime claims in the contested waters of the South China Sea.
The ministry highlighted that the Maritime Zones Act illegally encompasses most of China’s Huangyan Island and Nansha Islands, as well as related maritime areas, within the Philippines’ declared maritime zones. This inclusion, China asserts, “seriously infringes on China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea.”
“China strongly condemns and firmly opposes this act,” the statement declared. The ministry further emphasized that China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea “will not be affected by the new Philippine law.”
