China Warns the Philippines Against Relying on Outside Powers in South China Sea Dispute

In a stern rebuke on Thursday, the Chinese embassy in the Philippines urged Manila to abandon any illusions of external intervention to settle the ongoing South China Sea tensions. The diplomatic message also extended to the European Union, which was criticized for stirring the waters with its recent comments and actions.

Following EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas’s visit to Manila, where she expressed concern over China’s assertive activities in the strategically vital waterway, the Chinese embassy issued a pointed statement. It dismissed the notion that outside nations could mediate or influence the complex territorial disagreements, emphasizing that the EU has no standing in the dispute.

“The EU is not a party to the South China Sea disputes and has no right to interfere in the South China Sea differences between China and the Philippines,” the embassy spokesperson declared via an official statement. The message underscores Beijing’s firm stance that the conflict is a bilateral matter exclusively between China and the claimant nations, primarily the Philippines.

Meanwhile, the Philippine embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to inquiries seeking comment, leaving the diplomatic tug-of-war over the contested waters ongoing and unresolved.