MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) - The Department of Foreign Affairs
(DFA) on Thursday said China should remove a new map in its passports,
which mark disputed waters as Chinese territory.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario issued the statement
after being asked to react to a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman's
statement that other countries "should not read too much into the map."
"If that is the case, what they should do is remove the imprint of
the South China Sea in their passport," he told ANC's Headstart.
The Philippines and Vietnam have condemned the new microchip-equipped
passports, saying the map they incorporate violates their national
sovereignty by marking disputed waters as Chinese territory.
"This obviously is an excessive claim and in violation of international law, specifically UNCLOS," del Rosario said.
Instead, all exit and entry visas will be stamped on a separate visa application form and attached to the Chinese passports.
"We are saying, 'That's fine. You can come into the Philippines but we will not stamp the passports, which has this imprint,'" he said.
He also noted that India has gone one step further by stamping its own map onto visas issued to Chinese visitors as the map shows the disputed border areas of Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin as part of Chinese territory.
Asked if the Philippines will do the same, he replied: “Not yet.”
He also said the decision of the US government to raise the issue of the passports is "merely trying to bring out the fact that this action of China raises tension."
"Obviously we want to be able to control tension in order to sustain stability in the region," he said.
The South China Sea is strategically significant, home to some of the world's most important shipping lanes and believed to be rich in resources.
Other claimants to parts of the South China Sea are Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan.
- Philippine News Link
