11 June 2016, 09:50 GMT
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — China urges Philippines to avoid provocations in the South China Sea after a group of young Filipino activists tried to place a flag on a disputed Huangyan island also known as Scarborough Reef, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said Monday.
"Huangyan island is an original territory of China. We urge the Filipino side to respect Chinese sovereignty and abstain from any provocations in this regard," Lu said.
A number of disputed islands, including the Paracel Islands and the Spratly Islands, are located in the South China Sea. Beijing’s territorial claims to the Spratly Islands, known as Nansha Islands in China, which are believed to be rich in oil and gas reserves, run against those of the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei and Vietnam.
China has recently intensified construction works on the reefs it controls around the disputed Spratly Island archipelago.
