National flags are placed outside a room where Philippine Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez and China’s Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng address reporters after their meeting in Beijing, China, Jan 23, 2017. (File photo: REUTERS/Damir Sagolj)
CHANNEL NEWS ASIA | Published December 5, 2024
MANILA: The Philippines’ foreign ministry said on Thursday (Dec 5) it has filed a diplomatic protest against China over a Dec 4 maritime incident in a contested shoal in the South China Sea.
China and the Philippines traded accusations on Wednesday over a maritime confrontation around Scarborough Shoal, the latest row in a long-running and intensifying dispute. It was the 60th diplomatic protest lodged by Manila against China this year, and the 193rd since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr took office in 2022, foreign ministry data shows.
Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea, including the Scarborough Shoal, which has angered neighbouring countries that dispute some boundaries they say cut into their exclusive economic zones.
China rejects a 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague that Beijing’s expansive claims had no basis under international law.
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SOURCE: www.cna.com
RELATED: China’s intrusion seems to happen during PH political flare-up – solon
OVERKILL’ The China Coast Guard (right) does it again on Dec. 4, 2024; this time on the Datu Pagbuaya of the Bureau of
Fisheries and Aquatic Resources. — PHOTO FROM THE NATIONAL TASK FORCE ON THE WEST PHILIPPINE SEA
PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER | Published December 5, 2024
MANILA, Philippines — Why do China’s intrusive activities in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) seem to happen during political flare-ups in the Philippines?
La Union 1st District Rep. Paolo Ortega V posed this question during a press briefing at the Batasang Pambansa complex on Thursday. He was asked about an incident at Bajo de Masinloc on Wednesday morning, where five Chinese ships harassed Philippine vessels conducting a routine maritime patrol in the WPS.
He said that while he does not want to assume things, China’s harassment of Philippine vessels in the WPS happened again after a long time without incidents.
“Sometimes, some patterns are concerning; sometimes, there are squabbles here on land that are followed by maritime disputes. So is there a pattern of what is happening with the country’s political landscape? Is it connected, or somehow it’s still connected, especially if we have pro-China advocates and mouthpieces?” he said in Filipino.
“It’s hard to assume, but based on what we see, it seems to be what’s happening. It’s hard to assume, but honestly, sometimes, after reading the comments on social media and the articles online, you steer toward that direction,” he added.
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SOURCE: www.inquirer.net
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