China escalates rhetoric over Japan-Philippines maritime cooperation

China has opposed talks between Japan and the Philippines on maritime boundary delimitation, saying the discussions affect Beijing’s interests, according to a statement by Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian at a regular briefing.

He said Beijing believes that the actions of Tokyo and Manila seriously infringe on China’s maritime rights and interests, Caliber.Az reports via Chinese media.

Lin reiterated China’s position that it holds exclusive economic zone and continental shelf rights in waters east of Taiwan.

He also stated that the negotiations between Japan and the Philippines violate international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, as well as basic norms of international relations.

Japan and the Philippines announced on May 28, 2026, during a summit in Tokyo between Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., that they would commence formal negotiations to delimit the maritime boundary of their exclusive economic zones (EEZs) and continental shelves in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and relevant international jurisprudence.

Their EEZ claims overlap in the western Pacific, particularly in areas projecting from Japan's Yaeyama Islands and the Philippines' northernmost islands like Mavulis, where the zones meet and partially overlap.

This marks a significant step in deepening bilateral cooperation, building on recent agreements such as the Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) that entered into force in 2025, as both nations seek to enhance legal certainty and address shared concerns over maritime security without land borders between them.

By Jeyhun Aghazada