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China blames Philippines for Spratlys dispute

BEIJING: A senior Chinese official blamed the Philippines on Wednesday for "whipping up" tension in the South China Sea, saying a dispute over the Spratly Islands was being fueled by Manila's political posturing.

But the Foreign Ministry official, who declined to be identified, said China was willing to solve any dispute over the sprawling stretch of semi-submerged coral reefs through consultations and would not resort to force.

"We should have been able to seek a proper solution to this issue based on bilateral consulations," the official told reporters. "Regrettably, some people in the Philippines do not wish to see that happen," he said. "When they calm down, we should be able to continue our bilateral consulations."

His comments come just a week after officials from China and the Philippines met in Manila for two days of confidence-building talks aimed at smoothing differences over the area.

Beijing and Manila have sparred regularly over the Spratlys, a cluster isles, reefs and rocky outcrops believed by some to be potentially rich in oil.

Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam also lay claim to some of the islands in the vast chain. But China blames Manila for pushing the issue into the international spotlight.

"They keep whipping up this matter," the Chinese official said, linking it to heated debate in Manila over the renewal of a U.S.-Philippine Visiting Force Agreement governing military ties.

"As for the territorial dispute with Vietnam, China has a conflict of much wider interest than with the Philippines, but negotiations are going well."

The dispute over the Spratlys heated up again after Philippine reconnaissance photographs revealed China had expanded a series of structures on Mischief Reef, which is claimed by Beijing as Meiji Island.

Manila said the structures could be used for military purposes and demanded their removal.

Beijing retorted that the facilities were shelters for fishermen and ignored Manila's demand.

Philippine President Joseph Estrada signaled a breakthrough in the impasse last week when he said China had agreed it would not build new structures in the islands.

But the senior Foreign Ministry official refused to rule out further building, saying any construction was China's "sovereign right". However, he said the structures may be opened to the Philippines for emergency shelter of fishermen in the region.

"With the completion of the facilities and the improvement of bilateral relations, we will give positive consideration to the opening of these faciliteies to Filipino fishermen," he said.

The official also said China had demanded that Manila halt all reconnaissance flights over the disputed reef, arguing they were intimidating Chinese fishermen living there.

"In explicit terms we demanded that they should stop reconnaissance missions," he said. "Such actions are provocative, hostile and dangerous." -Reuters