(Eagle News) — The Philippines is filing another diplomatic protest against China over the presence of Chinese fishing vessels and maritime assets in the vicinity of Julian Felipe Reef in the West Philippine Sea.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. made the announcement in a Tweet on Wednesday, April 7, while sharing a Department of National Defense infographic quoting Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana’s response to the Chinese embassy’s justification of why the vessels were there.
Lorenzana had said the Chinese embassy in Manila’s “utter disregard” of international law, especially the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to which the Asian giant itself is a party, was “appalling.”
According to Locsin, the Philippines would file protests “everyday til the last one’s gone like it should be by now if it is really fishing.”
Earlier, the Department of Foreign Affairs said it would file a diplomatic protest against China “for every day of delay” in the removal of the Chinese ships ““in the area and vicinity of Julian Felipe Reef and in the Philippines’ maritime zones.”
The first time the Philippines filed a diplomatic protest over Julian Felipe Reef was on March 21.
