China has issued a legal warning to Japan and the Philippines regarding their planned maritime border talks, labeling the move “internationally wrongful” and asserting its right to hold both countries accountable.
This marks Beijing’s latest objection following the May agreement between Manila and Tokyo to commence formal talks on delimiting their exclusive economic zones and continental shelf, areas that overlap with China’s claims.
“The statement, issued without consulting China and ignoring the region’s specific geographic context, breaches international law,” said the China Institute for Marine Affairs under the Ministry of Natural Resources in a legal opinion published on Thursday.
It added that the action undermined sovereign equality and violated the obligations of cooperation, self‑restraint, and good faith.
“China, as the party whose rights and interests have been harmed, is entitled to hold Japan and the Philippines responsible for these internationally wrongful acts,” the statement concluded.
Although Japan and the Philippines do not share a land border, each as a coastal state may claim an exclusive economic zone reaching 200 nautical miles (approximately 370 kilometers or 230 miles) from its coastline.
