Commendable restraint in face of provocations: China Daily editorial
China DailyRen'ai Reef The series of provocations Manila has orchestrated in waters adjacent to China's Huangyan Island in the South China Sea over the past Chinese Lunar New Year holiday only serve to further erode Beijing's trust in Manila's sincerity in its recent assertion that it wanted to work together with China to secure a political settlement of the two countries' maritime disputes. In its latest move calculated to ruin Beijing's festive mood, the Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources vessel 3005 illegally intruded into the adjacent waters of Huangyan Island, ignoring repeated warnings from the China Coast Guard. China holds indisputable sovereignty over Huangyan Island and its adjacent waters, and the CCG's actions are legitimate activities to enforce the law in China's jurisdictional waters. The joint statement released by Beijing and Manila during President Ferdinand Marcos Jr's visit to Beijing one year ago, and the series of cooperation projects the two sides have carried out ever since, clearly highlight the tremendous benefits the Philippines can draw from cooperation with China.