(Eagle News)–The Philippines on Wednesday, April 22, filed two diplomatic protests against China.
In a tweet, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro “Teddy” Locsin Jr., said one protest was for the pointing of a radar gun at a Philippine Navy ship in Philippine waters, while the other was for declaring parts of Philippine territory as part of Hainan province.
He was referring to the two new districts, one in the Paracels and one in the Spratlys, which have been declared under the authority of the local government in Sansha.
The Philippines is claiming several areas in the Paracels and the Spratlys.
The Foreign Affairs secretary said the protests for “violations of international law (and) Philippine sovereignty” were filed at 5:17 p.m. today, April 22.
China is claiming large parts of the South China Sea but the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague has invalidated China’s nine-dash line that delineates its claims, in favor of the Philippines.
President Rodrigo Duterte has already raised the tribunal ruling with China’s President Xi Jinping.
