China urges the Philippines to take seriously China's grave concerns, honor its promise, stop making provocations at sea, stop groundlessly attacking as well as slandering China, and tow away the illegally "grounded" warship as soon as possible so that the peace and stability of the South China Sea will not be jeopardized and the common interests of countries in the region will not be affected, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.

The Philippines on Sunday delivered supplies to the illegally "grounded" warship at Ren'ai Jiao. During the process, the China Coast Guard (CCG), in accordance with law, blocked the Philippine vessels that illegally delivered construction materials. The Philippine side said in a statement that a CCG vessel made "dangerous blocking maneuvers" that caused it to collide with a Philippine vessel.

In response, a spokesperson for the ministry said two civil vessels and two coast guard vessels of the Philippines, in disregard of the warnings of the CCG vessels, went headlong towards Ren'ai Jiao's lagoon and bumped dangerously with the CCG ships conducting law enforcement on the scene and the Chinese fishing vessels having normal fishing activities there.

"The CCG took necessary law enforcement measures to the Philippine vessels in accordance with domestic and international law to uphold China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests," the spokesperson said, adding that the action it took on the scene was professional and restrained.

Reiterating that Ren'ai Jiao is part of China's Nansha Qundao and China's territory, the spokesperson said the Philippines' action seriously violates China's territorial sovereignty.

The Philippines explicitly promised several times to tow away the military vessel deliberately and illegally "grounded" at Ren'ai Jiao, said the spokesperson. "However, 24 years have passed and instead of towing it away, the Philippines has sought to repair and reinforce it on a large scale in order to permanently occupy Ren'ai Jiao."

China has had frequent communication with the Philippines at various levels and through various channels for quite some time, making it clear to the Philippines that it must not send construction materials meant for repairing and reinforcing the "grounded" warship on a large scale, the spokesperson said.

"The Philippines, however, chose to ignore China's goodwill and sincerity and has reneged on its own promise, kept sending vessels into the waters of Ren'ai Jiao, spreading disinformation and playing up the issue," the spokesperson said, adding that the Philippines' behavior seriously violated China's maritime rights and interests, breached international law and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) and undermined regional peace and stability. "We deplore and firmly oppose that."

The spokesperson added that China will continue to take necessary measures in accordance with domestic and international law to firmly safeguard China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.

(Cover: A Chinese coast guard ship and a Philippine coast guard ship in the South China Sea, October 4, 2023. /CFP)