China will not “grab from others” but countries claiming territories in the West Philippines Sea (South China Sea) should “respect” the historical facts, from which China based its sovereignty on the disputed islands, a high-ranking Chinese official said.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun in a speech said that the territorial disputes in the region will only be resolved through dialogues and negotiations “with full respect to historical facts and the international law.”

China claims the entire West Philippine Sea on the basis of the nine-dash line found on old Chinese maps. The line covers the whole sea and extends to the territories of Beijing’s neighboring countries.

The Philippines, on the other hand, based its claims on international laws, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos), which delineates the coastal waters and extended maritime territories of each country.

Zhang said that although China will not divert from its foreign policy of peaceful development, it “is equally firm in its resolve to uphold its territorial sovereignty and legitimate rights and interests.”

The Chinese official lamented that many countries see China’s actions in the West Philippine Sea as “assertive.”

“China will stay committed to the path of peaceful development. At the same time, China will firmly uphold its sovereignty, security and development interests. These two are not contradictory. What China upholds is its own legitimate rights and interests. It guards over what has always been its own,” Zhang said.

“It has no intention to grab from others. Only when China’s sovereignty, security and development interests are fully secured could China truly make steady progress along the path of peaceful development,” he added.

Zhang also said that the territorial disputes should be resolved directly by the claimant-countries, which includes China, the Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam.

He added that regional peace and stability should be the primary concern of claimant-countries “to avoid deterioration and escalation of tension.”

Zhang said that Beijing and claimant-countries must follow the proposal made by Chinese scholar Deng Xiaoping, who said that differences must be shelved and joint economic development must be conducted.

“We will remain committed to working with neighboring countries to properly address disputes over territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests and uphold the overall good relations with our neighbors,” he said.

“We hope that the countries concerned will work with us together toward this goal,” the official added.