On 7 May, Vice Foreign Minister Fu Ying called a meeting with Alex Chua, Charge D'affaires of the Philippine Embassy in China to make a serious representation over the current incident at Huangyan Island.
Fu Ying said that it's been almost a month since the incident at Huangyan Island occurred and it should have been ended early. I called to see you twice last month, asking the Philippine side to calm down and refrain from taking actions which would escalate or complicate the situation. However, it is obvious that the Philippine side has not realized that it is making serious mistakes and instead is stepping up efforts to escalate tensions. The Philippine side continued to send government vessels to the lagoon of the Huangyan Island, and repeatedly made erroneous remarks which mislead the public in the Philippines and the international community, played up the public feelings, thus severely damaging the atmosphere of the bilateral relations between China and the Philippines. Therefore it is hard for us to be optimistic about the situation.
Fu Ying stressed that the Huangyan Island belongs to China. It is hoped that the Philippine side will not misjudge the situation, and not escalate tensions without considering consequences. Because of the continuous provocation by the Philippine side, China's government vessels will continue to be on alert in the sea area of the Huangyan Island. With the purpose of providing a good environment to Chinese fishermen to operate in their traditional fishing ground, Chinese fishery administration vessels will also provide the fishing vessels with services and management in accordance with China's laws. China urges the Philippine side to withdraw its vessels in the sea area of the Huangyan Island, not to harass the operations of Chinese fishing vessels again, and still less harass government vessels of China in performing their duties in accordance with China's laws. The Chinese side has also made all preparations to respond to any escalation of the situation by the Philippine side.
Fu Ying stated that the Chinese side keeps to its position to seek diplomatic solutions to the current situation, and that China once again urges the Philippine side to seriously respond to China's concerns and return to the right track for handling the matter.