MANILA, Philippines — China on Wednesday insisted that there is no Chinese maritime militia at the Julian Felipe Reef in the West Philippine Sea, saying such speculation “is not helping.”
Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian issued the statement after the Philippines demanded China to withdraw fishing vessels and maritime assets from the West Philippine Sea.
“As we issued a statement the day before yesterday, Chinese fishing vessels have been fishing in the area for many many years. Now, those vessels are taking shelter in that part of the sea. I think it’s a quite normal activity,” Huang said in an interview on the sidelines of the arrival of 400,000 more CoronaVac doses donated …
Keep on reading: China insists no maritime militia in WPS: ‘Any speculation is not helping’