Manila stirring up trouble

The maritime standoff between China and the Philippines near China's Huangyan Island in the South China Sea entered its ninth day on Thursday. Manila should honor its commitment to solving the row through bilateral talks and withdraw its ships from the area immediately.

Vice-Foreign Minister Fu Ying summoned the charge d'affaires of the Philippine embassy in China for the second time on Wednesday to lodge representations over the incident, which broke out on April 10 when 12 Chinese fishing boats were harassed by a Philippine navy gunboat in a lagoon near the island.

China hopes the Philippines will act with a view to maintaining the overall situation of peace and stability in the South China Sea and will work with China to create favorable conditions for the healthy and stable development of relations between the two countries.