China has refuted Philippine President Benigno Aquino's recent accusation that China's construction activities on some islands in the South China Sea are "unreasonable".
Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei says China's work on the islands falls entirely within its sovereignty, which neither affects nor targets any nation.
He points out that the Philippines has occupied some of China's islands and reefs in the South China Sea since the 1970s.
"We urge the Philippines to earnestly respect China's territorial sovereignty and return to the bilateral political documents between China and the Philippines, and the commitments the Philippines made in the declaration of the code of conduct in the South China Sea, [that they] return to the correct path of using dialogue and negotiation to deal with the controversy in question, and do more things that benefit China-Philippine relations and regional peace and stability."
Hong Lei adds that China is committed to jointly safeguarding peace and stability of the South China Sea with ASEAN members, which includes the Philippines.
