China had openly derided the Philippines before the United Nations for the latter's petition that it should stop its massive reclamation in the South China Sea.
China's deputy permanent representative to the UN Wang Min said in his address to the international governing body that the Philippines has a "clear purpose to deceive the international community," according to the Philippine Star.
He said that Manila's "calculations are totally wrong. No matter what they say, they will never get their way," the publication added.
The Chinese representative reiterated that China will continue with its reclamation work despite protests from "that country."
The Philippines, on the other hand, through its representative to the UN, Lourdes Yparraguirre said that China's artificial island-building is a form of "intimidation, coercion or force."
Wang's response was these are "unwarranted accusations." He insisted that China is undertaking reclamation in its own territory and claimed that this is for "defense and humanitarian purposes like maritime search and rescue, disaster prevention and relief, and scientific research."
The Philippines is challenging under a historic arbitration case Manila filed under UNCLOS before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. A hearing was set in July and the Philippines wanted that all reclamation activities be halted before that.
However, China had been China has been building in the disputed territory in the Spratly Islands including Johnson Reef, McKennan Reef, Mischief Reef, Cuarteron Reef, Gaven Reef, and Fiery Cross Reef in the past 18 months. Fiery Cross Reef alone expanded to 11 times its original area, the Philippine representative added.
"There should be no pattern of forcing a change in the status quo in order to advance a so-called nine-dash line claim of undisputed sovereignty over nearly the entire South China Sea," Yparraguirre said, according to Rappler.com.
The publication said satellite images showed that China is constructing an airstrip, port facilities, cement factories, barracks, and other installations that will allow it to maintain de facto control of the disputed sea
She said China's actions in the disputed group of islands had destroyed coral reefs and fragile marine ecosystems in the area.
The Philippines is not the only country establishing claim on the group of islands. Other Southeast Asian countries including Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan have similar claims because these islands in the South China Seas are believed to hold vast deposits of oil and gas, a rich fishing site, and a major global shipping route.
