China reaffirms sovereignty over Xianbin Jiao, denounces Philippines' false accusations

China on Wednesday condemned the Philippines' "thief crying stop thief" behavior after Manila organized vessels to illegally intrude into the lagoon of China's Xianbin Jiao in the South China Sea.

Jiang Bin, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense, made the remarks in response to Philippines' false accusations about Chinese maritime law enforcement actions against Philippine personnel near Xianbin Jiao.

Jiang said that the Philippines deliberately organized and dispatched a large number of vessels to intrude into the lagoon of Xianbin Jiao illegally. Personnel on the Philippine vessels even brandished knives to threaten Chinese coast guard officers conducting lawful operations, an act that was "utterly egregious in nature".

"The measures taken by the Chinese side were necessary actions to safeguard its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests," the spokesperson emphasized. "They were reasonable, lawful, professional, and restrained."

"In the face of clear facts, certain people on the Philippine side are blatantly distorting the facts, making excuses to deny their own infringement and provocation. They even turned around to accuse China, which is completely reversing right and wrong and crying thief while being one themselves," said Jiang.

"For some time, the Philippine side has repeatedly stirred up incidents at sea, staging self-directed and self-staged farces, deliberately smearing and accusing China, agitating the situation in the South China Sea and undermining regional stability. We solemnly warn the Philippine side that playing the victim, hyping up and sensationalizing the issue will not change the nature of its illegal infringements, nor will it mislead the international community or shake China's resolve to safeguard its rights in accordance with the law. China will continue to take firm and effective measures to resolutely respond to all acts of infringement and provocation," he continued.

China reaffirms sovereignty over Xianbin Jiao, denounces Philippines' false accusations

The ceasefire in Gaza remains fragile, while humanitarians continue to face obstructions in delivering aid to the people, Ramiz Alakbarov, UN Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, said at a meeting on the question of Palestine at the UN Security Council on Tuesday.

He said that the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is concerned over the escalating violence in West Bank and the situation of Palestinian detainees, urging Israel to abide by international law and reiterating his commitment to promoting a two-state solution to end the illegal occupation and achieve lasting peace.

Riyad Mansour, permanent observer of the State of Palestine to the UN, condemned Israel's settlement expansion and settler violence in West Bank and East Jerusalem.

He said Israel should comply with international law, allow access for humanitarian aid and lift economic restrictions. He also urged Israel to adhere to the ceasefire agreement which took effect in this October.

"More than 70,000 Palestinians have been killed, hundreds of thousands have been injured or maimed. Thousands have been detained. An entire population has been displaced and starved. One figure captures the depth of this agony. During the final months of the Israeli onslaught, the number of babies dying on the very same day that they were born in Gaza was 75 percent higher than before this war on our people began. That is why no one welcomes the ceasefire more than the Palestinian people in Gaza. But Israel has yet to cease fire," said Mansour.

Also speaking at the meeting, Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon insisted that Israel's goal remains disarmament of Hamas.

Ceasefire in Gaza remains fragile: UN official