China urges Philippines to abandon 'unrealistic illusions' in South China Sea

Beijing has called on the Philippines to give up "unrealistic illusions" in the South China Sea, after Manila reaffirmed that Scarborough Shoal and the Kalayaan Island Group are integral parts of the Philippine archipelago.

China's Defence Ministry spokesman Zhang Xiaogang made the remarks during a news conference on Friday, according to an official statement. "We urge the Philippine side to give up unrealistic illusions, and stop putting on self-staged farces at sea or orchestrating propaganda," Zhang said.

His comments came a day after the Philippines' Department of National Defence posted a statement on the U.S. social media platform Facebook, saying that "China's narrative that the Philippines is a 'late claimant,' which ignores centuries of legal history and is flatly contradicted by official maps and legal documents that predate the People's Republic of China itself."

Manila also said that the scope of Philippine territories "has been defined by a series of international treaties," adding that China's Huangyan Dao (Scarborough Shoal) and Nansha Qundao (Kalayaan Island Group) are not within its scope.

Responding to this, Zhang reiterated that China "will continue to take resolute measures to firmly safeguard our territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests."

China claims sovereignty over Huangyan Dao, a territory disputed with the Philippines and known in Manila as the Scarborough Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc. The area has long been one of the most contentious flashpoints in the South China Sea, a region rich in resources and vital for global trade routes.

At the same briefing, Zhang also criticised Washington over its latest support for Taiwan, saying that "playing the 'Taiwan card' is no different from playing with fire." He described the U.S. Senate's recent passage of a bill allocating $1 billion in military aid for Taiwan and recommending its participation in the next Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC) as "an extremely dangerous gambling act" and warned that the U.S. "will surely pay a heavy price for it."

RIMPAC, the world's largest international maritime warfare exercise, is held biennially around the Hawaiian Islands and often draws participation from dozens of countries.

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