Malacanang respects the latest action being taken by the United States against China.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque made the statement following the US imposition of restrictions on certain China-owned enterprises and their executives for "malign" activities in the South China Sea.

"We respect that decision," he said in a virtual press briefing.

Roque said the US, like the Philippines, is a sovereign country, which makes its own decision as to who it will allow entry in its territory.

"You know, the decision as to who will be allowed entry in a territory of a country is a decision of a sovereign country," he said.

In a statement on August 26, US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said America has imposed visa restrictions on China's individuals "responsible for, or complicit in, either the large-scale reclamation, construction, or militarization" of disputed outposts in the South China Sea, or the China's use of coercion against Southeast Asian claimants to inhibit their access to offshore resources.

"These individuals will now be inadmissible into the United States, and their immediate family members may be subject to these visa restrictions as well," the US official said.

He also said the US Department of Commerce has added 24 China state-owned enterprises to the Entity List, including several subsidiaries of China Communications Construction Company.

The Entity List is a tool utilized by US Bureau of Industry and Security to restrict the export, re-export, and transfer (in-country) of items subject to the Export Administration Regulations to persons (individuals, organizations, companies) reasonably believed to be involved, or to pose a significant risk of becoming involved, in activities contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States.

Pompeo noted that since 2013, Beijing has used its state-owned enterprises to dredge and reclaim more than 3,000 acres on disputed features in the South China Sea, "destabilizing the region, trampling on the sovereign rights of its neighbors, and causing untold environmental devastation."

He claimed that CCCC led the "destructive dredging" of China's outposts in the disputed waters and is also one of the leading contractors used by Beijing in its global “One Belt One Road” strategy.

"CCCC and its subsidiaries have engaged in corruption, predatory financing, environmental destruction, and other abuses across the world," he said.

Pompeo said China must not be allowed to use CCCC and other state-owned enterprises as weapons to impose an expansionist agenda.

"The United States will act until we see Beijing discontinue its coercive behavior in the South China Sea, and we will continue to stand with allies and partners in resisting this destabilizing activity," he stressed.

Roque refused to further comment over the US action against China.

The South China Sea, believed to be rich in oil and other mineral resources, is being claimed partially or wholly by the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam, China and Taiwan.

Despite the 2014 ruling of the United Nations Arbitral Tribunal declaring as invalid China's sovereign and historic claim in the entire South China Sea, China has continued with its aggressive activities in the disputed waters. Celerina Monte/DMS