FALSE: Chinese military officer claims that PH must agree that the SCS belongs to China

Jerome Tan

A Facebook post discussing the West Philippine Sea dispute attached an image quoting a Chinese military officer on China’s claims in the South China Sea.

CLAIM: An officer of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) stated that the Philippines must first agree that the South China Sea belongs to China.

RATING: FALSE

CONCLUSION: While the background of the dispute discussed in the post is factual, there is no such statement from the pictured PLA officer, identified as retired colonel Zhou Bo. The attached image was taken from another Facebook post, which also did not have any attribution to Zhou.

THE FACTS:

• Zhou Bo formerly served in various diplomatic roles with the People’s Liberation Army Air Force. The picture of Zhou was taken from an unrelated article about Zhou’s visit to the United Kingdom.
• After retiring from the PLA, Zhou became an author and academic. 
• While he did verbally clash with Philippine officials over the dispute, he never publicly made statements asserting Chinese sovereignty in the region, focusing instead on geopolitical risks and violent encounters between the Philippine and Chinese Coast Guards.

THE BOTTOM LINE: 

As the Philippines continues to clash with China over the disputed waters, it remains important for both parties to discuss the issue in good faith and resolve conflicts peacefully.