China warns Philippines over island row

Beijing: China’s military daily on Thursday warned the Philippines, saying it won’t allow anyone to take the sovereignty of the Huangyan Island away from Beijing. The PLA Daily said, “We want to say that anyone’s attempt to take away China’s sovereignty over Huangyan Island will not be allowed by the Chinese government, people and armed forces. [caption id=“attachment_305596” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Reuters”]  [/caption] “Don’t attempt to take away half an inch of China’s territory,” said the organ of the People’s Liberation Army. It said China had exercised restraint on the Huangyan Island incident despite provocation by Manila. “If one mistakes China’s kindness for weakness and regards China as a ‘paper dragon’ as instigated by some onlookers, he is terribly wrong,” the article added. China pursues an independent foreign policy. It will not bully the weak nor blindly tolerate unreasonable tricks played by others, especially on matters concerning territorial integrity, it said. IANS