Story highlights
China says it's "strongly dissatisfied" by the young Filipino protesters
Group says they "won't stay away from their own territory"
China and Taiwan are expressing their displeasure with a ragtag band of Filipino activists who have waded into a regional dispute over territory in the South China Sea.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said the Chinese government is “strongly dissatisfied” with protestors from the Philippines, who landed Saturday on a small island that is a source of tension between the two neighbors.
“We once again urge the Philippine side to withdraw all its personnel and facilities from the Chinese islands and reefs it is illegally occupying,” Lu said.
Some 47 young activists from the group Kalayaan Atin Ito landed on the island to protest China’s aggressive actions in the South China Sea, according to Joy Ban-eg, a spokesperson for the group.
“China has no right to order us or direct us to stay away from our own territory,” Ban-eg said.
Taiwan is also voicing its disapproval of the group’s actions. A statement from the Taiwanese government says it “adamantly opposes, and strongly protests” what it called the group’s “illegal activities.”
“The ROC government will take all necessary measures to protect its legitimate and lawful rights in the South China Sea region,” the Taiwanese diplomatic statement said.
The group of protesters posted pictures of themselves on the beach on Facebook. The Philippine government earlier blocked a much larger demonstration by Kalayaan Atin Ito involving more than 1,000 volunteers. The group said it had been able to slip one boat with the 47 students to the island.
The island at the center of the dispute is known as Pagasa by the Philippines and Zhongye by China. It’s currently occupied by Filipino civilians and military personnel, but China claims it and the surrounding Spratly Islands chain as its sovereign territory.
In the past two years, China has reclaimed some 2,000 acres of land in a massive dredging operation, turning sandbars into islands equipped with airfields, ports and lighthouses.
Thought to be rich in resources, the South China Sea is subject to overlapping land claims from China, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.