TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Officials from the Philippines have accused China of illegal reclamation in the disputed territories in the South China Sea. The Philippines have previously said that China is unlawfully building an airfield on reclaimed land on Johnson South Reef at the disputed waters.
"Chinese activities at the South China Sea continues to draw our concern. Recent reports suggest that they are embarking on bigger projects over the reclaimed areas," said the Philippines' Deputy Secretary of Defence, Pio Lorenzo Batino to the press on Thursday, January 22, 2015.
Batino stopped short of detailing the progress that China has made - that said, Batino was quoted of saying that China is highly committed to the project, and that the progress is continuously being made.
At the same occasion, the undersecretary of Foreign Affairs, Evan Garcia, described China's reclamation project as "incredibly massive", and that the project undermines the already fragile agreement between the claimants of the disputed territory, which stated that no parties should undertake any development project in the disputed area until a binding treaty could be reached.
"China is not helping with the situation. This is not exactly what everyone understood as restrain," said Garcia.
The several Asian nations are involved in the South China Sea dispute. China has repeatedly claimed that the waters are a part of its' sovereign territory - sparking furore in Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam.
Last year, the Philippines accused China of illegal sand mining to assert its' claim over several reefs in the disputed territories. The Philippines has since filed a formal lawsuit to the United Nations (UN) to rebuke China's claim over its' territories in March 2014.
INDAH P. | AP
