Previous reports quoted Chinese embassy spokesman Sun Yi as saying: “I want to point out that since historical times, China has had indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha Islands and their adjacent waters.”


Philippine President Benigno Simeon Aquino III said there have been six or seven encounters between Philippine and Chinese vessels over the last four months. One incident involved the alleged firing of a Chinese vessel at Filipino fishermen last February.


Back in March the Philippines also decried a reported incident of Chinese patrol boats harassing a Philippine oil exploration vessel in disputed waters near the Spratlys.


The Philippines has already filed a formal protest with the United Nations against China claiming the Spratlys and adjacent South China Sea waters.


“The principal objective is peace and stability in the region. There should be peaceful cooperation and dialogue. There are many stockholders, and they are all committed to share these goals,” President Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma told reporters.


Coloma is referring to Aquino and Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah's agreement on adopting a “multilateral dialogue” policy among countries which claim the Spratlys.


Meanwhile, House Resolution 1350 seeks to rename the South China Sea as the "Western Philippine Sea" or “Kanlurang Dagat ng Pilipinas” following the Philippines' protest on China's reported incursions.


“Given the importance of the country's claim in the South China Sea, the government must proactively make moves to strengthen our claim in the area,” said Akbayan Reps. Walden Bello and Kaka Bag-ao.

China denies incursions into RP waters; renaming South China Sea proposed