The European Union accused China on Saturday for endangering peace in the South China Sea and urged all parties to comply with a 2016 court ruling that rejected most of China's claims for independence at sea, but Beijing rejected it.
The EU last week unveiled a new policy aimed at increasing its momentum in the Indo-Pacific region to combat China's growing power.
The Philippines on Friday protested China's failure to withdraw what it called "scary" boats believed to be guarded by naval forces around the rival Whitsun Reef, which Manila called the Julian Felipe Reef.
"Tensions in the South China Sea, including the presence of large Chinese ships on the Whitsun Reef, threaten peace and stability in the region," a EU spokesman said in a statement on Saturday.
The EU reiterated its strong opposition to "paired action that could undermine regional stability and international law enforcement".
It urged all parties to resolve disputes peacefully in accordance with international law, and emphasized international mediation in 2016 which ruled in favor of the Philippines while rejecting most of China's claims in the South China Sea.
China has dismissed the EU claim that its ships on the Whitsun Reef, China's Niu'E Jiao, endangered peace and security.
The Chinese Mission to the EU in a statement on Saturday reiterated that the reef is part of the Chinese Nansha Islands, or Spratly Islands, and that it is "reasonable and permissible" for Chinese fishing boats to operate there and protect from the wind.
The Chinese statement reiterated that China's sovereignty, rights and interests in the South China Sea were built on "a long history of history and in line with international law" and rejected the 2016 court ruling as "ineffective and ineffective".
"The South China Sea should not be an international tool for oppressing and oppressing China, let alone for a major international conflict," China said in a statement.
China is increasingly concerned that Europe and other countries are responding to the call of the U.S. President. Joe Biden's call for an "integrated program" against China, which has so far been punishable by the recent genocide in Hong Kong and the treatment of Uyghur Muslims.
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken last month said Washington was "against its counterpart, the Philippines," during a confrontation with Chinese military pilots on the Whitsun Reef.
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