China's law enforcement actions near the Ren'ai Jiao (Ren'ai Reef) in the south China Sea are justified, legitimate, and professional, said Wu Qian, spokesman of the Ministry of National Defense, at a press conference in Beijing on Thursday.
Wu made the statement in response to media query about recent remarks made by the U.S. and Philippine officials concerning China's law enforcement actions at the Ren'ai Jiao.
"The Nansha Islands, with the Ren'ai Jiao included, are China's inherent territory, with solid historical and legal evidences and grounds. In the recent period of time, the Philippines has gone back on its words and dispatched vessels on multiple occasions to intrude into the waters of Ren'ai Jiao in an attempt to deliver construction materials, weapons and ammunition to the illegally grounded warship at the reef. This is the direct cause of the escalation of the tension. Especially on June 17, the Philippine side even deliberately rammed Chinese ship in a dangerous way and threw stones at Chinese personnel. Such moves seriously violated stipulations of international laws, gravely endangered crews and ships of both sides, and severely undermined peace and stability in the region. Facing the Philippines' infringement and provocations, the Chinese side has every reason to take law enforcement actions, which are completely justified, lawful, professional and standardized," he said.
"What should be emphasized is that the Ren'ai Jiao issue has nothing to do with the United States. The U.S. move to incite and support the Philippine's infringement and provocation is very dangerous and also extremely irresponsible. As the U.S. side frequently resorts to threatening the Chinese side with the U.S.-Philippine Mutual Defense Treaty, it won't work at all," said Wu.
Wu also responded remarks made by Scott Ritter, a former officer of the U.S. Marine Corps, saying that the U.S. is using the Philippines as a tool against China and it will discard the Philippines when it is no longer useful.
"Regarding the remarks made by the former U.S. military officer about 'taking the Philippines as a tool', I think the international community will have a fair judgment on it. No matter it is the 'Saigon moment' in history or the Fall of Kabul, they both remind me of a quote from the late Henry Kissinger, which is, 'It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal'," said Wu.
Defense Ministry spokesman on China's law enforcement at Ren'ai Jiao
