Philippines tells China: Leave Panganiban, Zamora reefs in West PH Sea

SUBI REEF. Video from the Philippine Coast Guard shows flares being fired from Subi Reef on September 7, 2026.

Philippine Coast Guard

China fired flares at an unarmed Philippine Coast Guard aircraft as it flew near Panganiban Reef and Zamora Reef en route to Pag-asa Island last September 7

AT A GLANCE

• The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) urged China to cease its militarization and illegal activities in Panganiban Reef and Zamora Reef, asserting the Philippines' sovereign rights over these areas.
• Chinese forces recently fired flares at a Philippine Coast Guard aircraft near these reefs, which are part of the Philippines' exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea.
• The DFA emphasized that China's actions violate international law, specifically the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and a 2016 Arbitral Award that supports the Philippines' claims.

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MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) reiterated on Friday, September 11, Manila’s call for Beijing to leave militarized reefs in the West Philippine Sea, days after China fired flares at a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) aircraft.

“We call on China to cease its illegal occupation and activities in Panganiban Reef and Zamora Reef immediately, and to abide by the final and binding 2016 Arbitral Award,” said the DFA.

On September 7, Chinese forces in Panganiban Reef (Mischief Reef) and Zamora Reef (Subi Reef) fired flares at an unarmed PCG aircraft as it was en route to Pag-asa Island. All these features are part of the West Philippine Sea, a body of water that includes the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the South China Sea.

Chinese embassy in Manila deputy spokesperson Guo Wei, in a statement, earlier insisted in a statement that China had “jurisdiction” over the two reefs, which they consider to the part of the Nansha Islands, which they claim as their territory.

Both reefs are low-tide elevations where sovereignty cannot be claimed, based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which China is signatory to.

In a statement, the DFA said that since the reefs are within the Philippines’ EEZ and continental shelf, it’s Manila that has “sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the features.”

The DFA added: “China’s island-building on both features violates the Philippine Maritime Zones Act (Republic Act 12064) and UNCLOS, as confirmed by the Award, and does not change the features’ legal status as a low-tide elevation.”

China claims almost all of the South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea, as its territory — a stand that’s contradictory to UNCLOS. Beijing also rejects the 2016 Arbitral Award, a landmark ruling based on UNCLOS, that affirmed the entitlements and rights of the Philippines based on the same convention.

Bilateral ties between the two countries have been especially tense in recent years, primarily over disputes in the West Philippine Sea and China’s incursions. Those tensions have also spilled beyond the maritime space. Last year, China imposed sanctions on former senator Francis Tolentino, who is now labor chief, and sanctioned Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. just in 2026. – Rappler.com