China Rejects Philippine Nautical Chart, Presses Japan on Taiwan, Stays Silent on Trilateral Summit

China's foreign ministry on Tuesday pushed back against the Philippines' release of a revised nautical chart that includes features in the Nansha Islands, restated its claims over the disputed waters, and used the occasion of a diplomatic anniversary to press Japan over Taiwan and historical issues.

Responding to a question on the Philippine National Maritime Council's new chart, spokesperson Guo Jiakun said Zhongye Island and Mahuan Island form part of China's Nansha Islands, over which he said China holds indisputable sovereignty along with their adjacent waters. He said the Philippines' territorial limits are set by a series of international treaties, and that the islands and reefs of the South China Sea, including the Nansha group, fall outside that scope.

Guo said Manila has illegally occupied some islands and reefs beyond its own territory, designated a so-called Kalayaan Island Group, and issued charts covering China's Nansha Islands and related features. He described those steps as a serious infringement of Chinese territorial sovereignty, a violation of the UN Charter and relevant international law, and illegal and void. China, he added, firmly opposes any move that undermines its sovereignty and rights and will keep taking necessary measures to safeguard its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea.

On the 54th anniversary of the Joint Communiqué between the governments of China and Japan, Guo said bilateral ties are once again in a grave situation, which he attributed to damage to the political foundation of the relationship. He said Japan's current leaders have not reflected on the country's responsibility for its history of aggression and have openly challenged China's national sovereignty by describing a Taiwan contingency as a situation threatening Japan's survival — a stance he said reneges on the original purpose of diplomatic normalisation and on Japan's political commitments to China. He also accused Tokyo of hyping external threats to accelerate remilitarisation, challenge the postwar international order and threaten regional peace and stability.

Guo said history has repeatedly shown that relations can stay on track only when the spirit of the four political documents between the two countries is genuinely observed. He cited Foreign Minister Wang Yi's remarks a day earlier, during a meeting with Iwaya Takeshi, president of the Japan Association for the Promotion of International Trade, that Japan's urgent task is to correct its leader's wrong words and actions on Taiwan, that it is important to adopt the right attitude on historical issues, and that it is fundamental to form an objective and rational understanding of China. On the anniversary, Guo urged Japan's leaders to reflect on and correct their mistakes and to take concrete steps back to the documents' original purpose.

Asked about a Kremlin spokesperson's remark that the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Shenzhen offers a good opportunity for a trilateral meeting of the Russian, Chinese and US leaders, Guo said China, as this year's APEC host, is ready to work with all parties to promote fruitful outcomes for APEC China 2026 and contribute to economic growth in the Asia-Pacific and the world. On the specific question, he said he had no information to provide.