Philippines' so-called maritime acts violate interests of other countries, undermine int'l rule of law: experts

The Philippines' adoption of two so-called maritime laws seriously violates the rights and interests of other countries and undermines the international rule of law, and China will resolutely take corresponding measures to safeguard its rights, according to Chinese experts.

The Philippines has 'stirred up trouble' again by enacting two domestic laws, attempting to cover its illegal moves in the South China Sea with a legal veneer, the experts said.

The so-called "Maritime Zones Act" and "Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act" signed into law by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday, gravely infringe upon China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea, according to the experts, sparking strong condemnation and serious protests from China.

As domestic laws, the two acts have provisions far beyond the scope authorized by international laws and seriously violate the provisions of international laws such as the United Nations Charter and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Experts said the "Maritime Zones Act" illegally includes China's Huangyan Dao (Island) and most of the islands and reefs of China's Nansha Qundao (Nansha Islands) and relevant waters in the maritime zones of the Philippines, and attempts to enshrine the illegal award of the South China Sea arbitration in the form of domestic legislation.

"The Philippines has long refused to give up coveting the sovereignty of part of China's Nansha Qundao. The 'Maritime Zones Act' uses the illegal award of the South China Sea Arbitration as a basis or source of the Philippines' maritime rights claims. The Philippines attempts to further position itself as a so-called 'winner' of the South China Sea arbitration through this domestic law. This also reflects that since 2016, especially since the Marcos Jr. government came to power, the Philippines has accelerated the pace of confirming the illegal award of the South China Sea arbitration through domestic legislative measures. China will take strong and effective countermeasures against the Philippines' activities that infringe on China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights. No matter what actions the Philippines takes at sea or in political, diplomatic and legal sectors, its schemes of infringement will not succeed,” said Ding Duo, deputy director of the Research Center for Ocean Law and Policy under the National Institute for South China Sea Studies.

As for the "Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act", Chinese experts say many of its provisions are incompatible with international law and resolutions of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), which imposes obligations beyond international law on passing foreign vessels and aircrafts, undermining the legitimate rights of navigation and overflight of other countries.

"First of all, this act has excessive restrictions on the freedom of navigation, which is not in line with the relevant provisions of the IMO and the UNCLOS. In addition, it has discriminatory regulations to determine navigation management measures for a country based on the closeness of its relationship with the Philippines, which is also not in line with international practice. The act excludes the Philippines' allies and countries close to it, like Australia and Japan. Some restrictions are not imposed on them, but on other countries including China. Judging from the current situation, the 'Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act' is an absolute practice of restricting freedom of navigation,” said Hu Bo, director of the South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative.

The "Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act" will actually harm the vital interests of the Philippines, as the three sea lanes designated by the act are all adjacent to the U.S. military bases in the Philippines. The Philippines is thus further tied to the "chariot" of promoting the geopolitical influence of major countries outside the region, posing greater risks to its own security, the experts said.

In an attempt to create so-called stronger legal weapons for its expansion in the South China Sea, the Philippines' adoption of the two acts is a legal farce which is a continuation of the South China Sea arbitration and will not contribute to the peaceful resolution of the South China Sea dispute, but will further intensify confrontations in the region, according to the experts.

"The Philippines' provocative and infringing activities in the South China Sea have gravely jeopardized peace and stability in the region. The Philippines choice to adopt these two acts at such a time, followed by the U.S. statement voicing support, has added a new element of instability to the situation in the region,” said Lei Xiaolu, a professor at Wuhan University's China Institute of Boundary and Ocean Studies.

"The Philippines is sparing no effort to win over countries outside the region to put pressure on China, and it is increasingly attracting countries outside the region in terms of politics, diplomacy, public opinion and military. The Philippines' approach is tantamount to opening the door to the devil, which will lead to more and more military forces outside the region gathering in the South China Sea. This is actually not only detrimental to the relations between China and the Philippines, but also undermines the centrality of countries in the region, especially the ASEAN countries, in the region's security affairs,” said Ding.

The Chinese government on Sunday issued a statement regarding the baselines of the territorial sea adjacent to China's Huangyan Dao.

The statement declared that the government of the People's Republic of China (PRC), in accordance with the Law of the PRC on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone dated February 25, 1992, announced the baselines of the territorial sea adjacent to Huangyan Dao. This has reflected China's will, determination and ability to safeguard its sovereignty, security and development interests.

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday issued a solemn statement, saying that "China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea shall under no circumstances be affected by the award."

The arbitral tribunal handled the case ultra vires and rendered the award in distortion of law, hence the award violates international law including UNCLOS, and is null and void, according to the statement.

Regarding issues concerning the South China Sea, China has always committed to methods of managing differences and carrying out negotiations and consultations in handling territorial and maritime issues while the Philippines has been making repeated provocations at the political and legal levels for some time, and China will inevitably take corresponding measures to safeguard its rights, experts say.

What the Philippines has done in the South China Sea has created and escalated tensions in the region and hindered stability and prosperity in the region, which will do more harm than good to countries in the region, according to the experts.

Philippines' so-called maritime acts violate interests of other countries, undermine int'l rule of law: experts

The fast expansion in China's total social financing, a broad measure of credit and liquidity in the economy, indicates that the country's financing activity is gathering steam and the government's pro-growth policies are gaining traction in bolstering the real economy, said two Chinese experts.

According to data released on Wednesday by the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the country's central bank, China's outstanding aggregate social financing totaled 424 trillion yuan (about 58.8 trillion U.S. dollars) at the end of April, increasing by 8.7 percent from the same period last year and quickening from the 8.4-percent rise in March. In the first four months, the newly added amount of financing to the real economy stood at 16.34 trillion yuan, up by 3.61 trillion yuan from the corresponding period of 2024.

Analysts said that accelerated government bond issuance aimed at boosting the economy drove the growth of total social financing.

"The issuance of government bonds has significantly accelerated this year. Among them, the issuance of ultra-long special treasury bonds and special treasury bonds for capital injection [into central financial institutions] launched in April, coupled with the continued rollout of special refinancing bond issuance for local governments, led to about 970 billion yuan in net financing, driving a growth rate of nearly 0.3 percentage points in total social financing," said Dong Ximiao, chief researcher at the Merchants Union Consumer Finance.

"This year's issuance of ultra-long special treasury bonds was launched one month earlier than last year, and together with credit loans, it has been the main driving force for the growth of social financing. Corporate bond financing has been growing steadily and equity financing has been steadily advancing, indicating an increasing role of the capital market in bolstering the real economy," said Lu Zhe, chief economist at the Soochow Securities.

According to this year's government work report, a total of 1.3 trillion yuan of ultra-long special treasury bonds will be issued, 300 billion yuan more than in 2024, while 500 billion yuan of special treasury bonds will be issued to support large state-owned commercial banks in replenishing capital.

Late last month, China issued this year's first batches of ultra-long special treasury bonds and special treasury bonds.

Part of the funds have been swiftly channeled into boosting consumer demand, a key focus in the country's efforts to spur economic growth.

"The Ministry of Finance has recently launched the issuance of 1.3 trillion yuan of ultra-long special treasury bonds to promote large-scale equipment upgrades and consumer goods trade-ins and to help implement major national strategies and enhance security capacity in key areas. We expect a fast rollout of special treasury bond issuance in the coming months to drive domestic demand, boost public confidence, and provide strong support for social financing," Dong said.

Fast growth in aggregate social financing indicates gov't efforts to spur economy paying off