China never allows Philippines to seize Ren'ai Reef: FM spokesman

A Foreign Ministry spokesman said here on Saturday that China will never allow the Philippines to occupy the Ren'ai Reef off China's Nansha Islands in any form. Hong Lei, the spokesman, made the remarks in a written statement in response to the Philippines' action of sending a supply ship to the Ren' ai Reef with journalists on board on Saturday. He said the Philippines' action was aimed to hype up the South China Sea issue, so as to serve its attempt to illegally seize the Ren'ai Reef. The Philippines' action can not change the fact that China owns sovereignty over the Nansha Islands, including the Ren'ai Reef, and can not shake China's resolve to safeguard its national sovereignty, said the spokesman. He stressed that China would never allow the Philippines to undermine the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) signed by China and ASEAN member countries in 2002. The Philippines grounded a warship near the Ren'ai Reef in the South China Sea in 1999 and refused to retrieve the ship. In a recent statement, the Philippine side claimed that the stranded warship has served as a permanent installation since 1999. The Philippines has also repeatedly attempted to deliver construction materials to build on the reef, in order to intensify and expand its military presence.