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MANILA, Philippines: The Philippines has launched two diplomatic protests against China’s aggression in the Western Philippine Sea, accusing China of violating international law and the sovereignty of the Philippines.
@DFAPHL We work on this all day. And that is all that will be said about it because the diplomatic notes are strictly confidential between the two States parties. Period. https://t.co/cTXv4W9T9z
– Teddy Locsin Jr. (@teddyboylocsin) April 22, 2020
“At 5:17 pm today, the Chinese Embassy received two diplomatic protests: 1. Aiming a radar gun at a Philippine Navy ship in PH waters and 2. Declaring parts of Philippine territory as part of Hainan province, “Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said on Twitter on Wednesday (April 22).
A People’s Liberation Army Navy ship aimed a radar weapon at a Philippine Navy ship near the Philippine-occupied Rizal Reef in the Kalayaan Island Group on February 17, according to sources. No further details are available at the time of publication.
Last week, China announced that it had established two administrative units in the South China Sea as part of its latest move to establish full control of the disputed waters.
Vietnam has launched a diplomatic protest to express anger against Chinese aggression in the area.
The Philippines’ protest came as China began using the coronavirus crisis for diplomacy by donating medical supplies and equipment.
“I hope no one else in the government will comment on it because they are not competent to do so,” Locsin’s tweet said.
“Only the President himself can reveal and govern the notes on his alter ego to the Foreign Secretary,” he said.
In another move to intimidate its way into the disputed waters, China has also named 80 geographic features on the Spratly and Paracels Islands.
A Chinese government prospecting ship, Haiyang Dizhi 8 escorted by Chinese Coast Guard vessels, has tagged Malaysian state oil company Petronas while conducting exploratory drilling near Malaysian waters.
A Chinese maritime patrol aircraft was also seen earlier this month at Kagitingan (Fiery Cross) Reef during a training exercise.
Vietnam also filed a protest in early April after China rammed and sank a Vietnamese fishing boat near Paracels.
The 2016 decision of the United Nations-backed arbitration court in The Hague ruled that Beijing’s claims are without foundation and that its construction frenzy in the South China Sea was illegal.
In recent years, China had transformed reefs and islands into outposts equipped and equipped with ports, airstrips, anti-missile shelters, communications facilities that expanded its ability to monitor its activities and those of its rivals in the South Sea. from China, which Beijing claims to own almost entirely.
The United States accused Beijing of taking advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to establish a full military presence in the South China Sea and control shipping routes.
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Edited by TSB
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