Island dispute gets bitter between China, Philippines
In apparent punitive economic actions against the Philippines, China Thursday barred its nationals from traveling there, raised trade barriers on imported fruits as the row over a disputed fishing territories got more intense between the neighbors.
Media reports said 120 containers of Filipino bananas were stopped at customs for longer inspections on the grounds of "quarantine concerns".
"The quarantine agency urged local authorities to increase examinations for harmful organisms," the official Xinhua news agency said.
The move came amid an official media campaign suggesting any claims on the disputed island in the South China Sea was tantamount to an infringement of Chinese sovereignty.
The island in question is known as Huangyan Island by the Chinese and Panatag Shoal by the Philippines with the two countries having competing claims. It is a triangular-shaped cluster of reefs, about 130 miles from the Philippines' Subic Bay.
The official newspaper of the Chinese army in its hard hitting editorial on Thursday said China would not compromise on the sovereignty of the island.
"Not only the Chinese government will not agree, neither will the Chinese people, and the Chinese Army will disagree even more," the editorial said.
Most travel agencies in China in the meantime suspended tours to the Philippines as 'precautionary measures to ensure safety of their clients", Xinhua news agency said.
Foreign ministry spokesperson Hong Lei said at the regular briefing Thursday that the Philippines should stop escalating tensions and warned that Manila must take responsibility for the dispute over the island.
Activists in Manila have planned protests outside Chinese embassy offices prompting Beijing to issue advisories for Chinese citizens in the Philippine capital to stay off the streets and avoid conflict with locals.
Source: Southeast Asia News.Net
- 495 reads
