China Tuesday urged the Philippines to respect its territorial integrity and abide by the consensus reached by both sides so as to maintain stability in the South China Sea and friendship between the two countries.
The Philippine navy recently forcefully boarded Chinese fishing boats in the South China Sea, confiscated all the catch and forced the boats to leave the area.
China has made solemn representations with the Philippines over this issue, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Sun Yuxi said at today's regular news conference in response to a question concerning the issue.
He stressed that Huangyan Island on the South China Sea has always been part of the Chinese territory -- a fact that has been universally respected by the international community.
(People’s Daily 02/07/2001)
