China calls on Philippines to move grounded warship from reef in South China Sea

China has repeated a call for the Philippines to remove a grounded World War II warship, which Manila uses as a makeshift military base, from a reef in the South China Sea.

“China once again urges the Philippine side to immediately remove the warship from Second Thomas Shoal and restore it to its unoccupied state,” China’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

China, the ministry said, has communicated to the Philippines on the Second Thomas Shoal issue “many times” through diplomatic channels, but its goodwill and sincerity have been “ignored”.

A spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry also said, “The Philippine side has repeatedly made clear promises to tow away the warship illegally ‘stranded’ on the reef.”

“Twenty-four years have passed, the Philippine side has not only failed to tow away the warship, but also attempted to repair and reinforce it on a large scale to achieve permanent occupation of the Ren’ai Reef,” the spokesperson added, using the Chinese term for the Second Thomas Shoal.

Manila summoned Beijing’s envoy on Monday after China’s coastguard reportedly blocked Philippine vessels carrying supplies to Filipino military personnel stationed on the grounded vessel.

China maintained over the weekend that it had taken “necessary controls” against Philippine boats that “illegally” entered its waters and said on Monday it had been “professional and restrained”.

China’s coastguard and navy vessels said on Monday the country had told Manila not to send ships to the shoal and not to send “construction materials used for large-scale repair and reinforcement” to the grounded warship.

China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, which overlaps with the waters of Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, Taiwan and the Philippines.

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Manila deliberately grounded the vessel in 1999 to reinforce its sovereignty claims. China maintains the Philippines' occupation of the shoal is illegal.

The Chinese ambassador to the Philippines said on Tuesday that China had no choice but to respond to the presence of the Philippine ships.

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China's embassy in Manila criticized Washington for "gathering" its allies to continue "hyping up" the South China Sea issue. "The South China Sea is not a 'safari park' for countries outside the region to make mischief and sow discord," the embassy said in a statement. 

Tensions have soared between the two neighbors over the South China Sea under Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, with Manila pivoting back to the United States, which supports the Southeast Asian country in its maritime disputes with China.

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