China is not in a position to dictate what the Philippines can or cannot do within its maritime territory.

This was the clear message that the Philippines sent to China on Thursday following Chinese Ambassador Ma Keqing's statement of concern over the Philippines readiness to build up presence in the Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

"Ayungin shoal is an integral part of Philippine national territory," Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs Raul Hernandez said.

"In the first place, China has no right to be there and because they have no right to be there, they are not in a position to dictate on what the Philippines can do within its maritime domain," he added.

The DFA remained firm on the Philippines' ownership claim of Ayungin Shoal and therefore asked China to stop interfering in the country's sovereign undertakings in the territory. The agency also asked China to withdraw its surveillance and fishing vessels that have been deployed in the area for almost a month.

The Philippines has filed a complaint over the deployment before the Chinese embassy in Manila but an official reply has yet to be received by the DFA.

In a meeting with Philippine Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin on Wednesday, Ambassador Ma had expressed concern on behalf of her government over the possibility of the Philippines building more structures in the Ayungin Shoal. At present, only a rusty grounded ship which serves as a detachment for Filipino sailors is found in the area.

The Defense secretary assured the Chinese ambassador, however, that activity within the shoal is restricted to replenishing supplies for the Philippine troops on the grounded BRP Sierra Madre. This assurance was echoed by the DFA.

"The DFA stresses that the rotation of personnel and their provisioning by the Armed Forces of the Philippines is a sovereign and humanitarian duty," Hernandez said.

"The Philippines exercises jurisdiction and sovereign rights over its exclusive economic zone and continental shelf in the West Philippine Sea and has all the right to undertake lawful activities within its maritime domain without any interference or objection by any other state," he added.

When asked of the Philippines' next move in case China would not yield, Hernandez said the government is preparing for other possible actions to take.

"We are evaluating our options and continue to look for ways to resolve this as soon possible. But as we said, and as the President (Benigno Aquino III) said in his speech at the Navy anniversary [last week], we will defend what is ours. We are getting guidance from that speech of the President," Hernandez said.

China has continued to assert its ownership of the shoal by claiming that it is within its nine-dash line territory. This is the same basis that the China Foreign Ministry is using to justify the presence of its vessel in Ayungin, claiming that patrolling its waters is within the sovereign right of China.

This latest dispute between the two countries comes amid the Philippines' pending arbitral protest filed before the United Nation. The arbitration primarily seeks the stoppage of Chinese incursions into established maritime territories in the West Philippine Sea; the nullification of the nine-dash claim; and the clarification of overlapping maritime bids in the area.

While China remains resistant to the arbitration process and has refused to participate, the case continues under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Countries like the United States, Japan, Germany and the European Parliament have voiced support over the decision of the Philippines to take legal action as a peaceful way to end the dispute.

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