THE Department of Foreign Affairs said it has protested recent Chinese actions, including issuance of radio challenges to Philippine vessels and aircraft conducting patrols over and around the country’s territory and maritime zones.
The DFA did not say when the incidents took place but said “these provocative acts threaten the peace, good order, and security of the South China Sea and run contrary to China’s obligations under international law.”
Among the acts, it said in a statement it issued on Wednesday night, were “unlawful issuance of over 200 radio challenges, sounding of sirens, and blowing of horns by Chinese government vessels against Philippine authorities conducting legitimate, customary and routine patrols over and around the Philippines’ territory and maritime zones.
Last month, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. also ordered the filing of protests over the continued presence of at least a hundred Chinese fishing vessels in the West Philippine Sea, particularly at the Iroquois Reef, a feature in the area claimed by the Philippines.
China claims nearly the entire South China Sea, including the area that Manila refers to as the West Philippine Sea, through about $5 trillion worth of goods passes annually.
Beijing has refused to abide by the 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, based in the Netherlands, that upheld Manila’s claim in the disputed waters and debunked the former’s sweeping claim under its nine-dash line theory.
The tribunal though has no enforcement mechanism and Beijing insisted on bilateral talks to address the dispute.
Earlier, the DFA said it has filed more than 150 diplomatic notes against China since 2016 over its aggressive activities in and around Manila’s territorial waters and maritime zones.
