The Chinese mainland has strongly refuted accusations from the Philippines claiming that it is constructing an artificial island near Xianbin Jiao, also known as Xianbin Reef.
During a regular press conference on Monday, Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry, dismissed Manila's allegations as \"groundless\" and described them as \"baseless rumors.\" He criticized the Philippines for spreading misinformation intended to tarnish China's image and mislead the international community.
\"We urge the Philippines to stop making irresponsible remarks, face the facts, and return to the right track of properly handling maritime-related differences through negotiation and consultation as soon as possible,\" Wang emphasized.
Xianbin Jiao is situated within China's Nansha Qundao and lies inside the nine-dash line, an area the Chinese mainland claims as its territory. The Philippines refers to the reef as Escoda and has previously accused China of destroying coral reefs in the West Philippine Sea to facilitate the construction of artificial islands.
Reference(s):
China slams claims about building artificial island near Xianbin Jiao
cgtn.com
