http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2012/11/2012112961659865875.html
Philippines will not stamp new China passport
Tensions continue to rise over new travel document showing vast portions
of South China Sea as Chinese territory.
Last Modified: 29 Nov 2012 07:46
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More than a half-dozen Asian nations are angry over the new passport
design. [Reuters]
The Philippines has become the latest country to say it will not stamp
visas in the new Chinese passport because it contains a map showing parts of
the South China Sea, claimed by the Philippines, as Chinese territory.
The Philippines will instead issue a seperate visa form for Chinese
nationals holding the controversial passport, according to the foreign ministry.
The Filipino government said that this move reinforces its protest about
claims over the western Philippine Sea. It also argued that stamping the
passport could be "misconstrued" as "legitimising" China's claims. The foreign
secretary, Albert del Rosario, sent Beijing a formal protest letter last week,
calling the passport maps "an excessive declaration of maritime space in
violation of international law".
The new Chinese passport contains a map that suggests a Chinese claim
over vast parts of the South China Sea, which are also claimed in part by the
Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan.
Vietnam has also refused to stamp the passports, while Taiwan has
objected to the map's maritime borders. India, angered that the map claims
their state of Arunachal Pradesh and the Aksai China as Chinese territory, is
issuing Chinese citizens visas embossed with New Delhi's own version of the map.
The United States is not taking sides in the territorial disputes. The
state department has said it wants to ensure safe martime traffic in the
region, and will "raise concerns" with Beijing over the map.
The Chinese government has responded to the ongoing row by stating that
countries should not "read too much into" the maps.
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