MANILA – The Philippines is filing another diplomatic protest against China over the latter’s recent aggressions in Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal) and Escoda Shoal (Sabina Shoal) in the West Philippine Sea.
According to Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) secretary Enrique Manalo, they will immediately submit the country’s protest to contest the recent actions.
“It’s very clear, I mean we were within our legal rights. Certainly, we don’t understand why China again is repeating these actions which are clearly illegal,” Manalo said.
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said on Wednesday that the China Coast Guard (CCG) launched water cannon attacks and rammed a vessel of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) that was on a maritime patrol in the vicinity of Bajo de Masinloc.
CCG 3302 fired a water cannon at BFAR vessel BRP Datu Pagbuaya (MMOV 3003) at around 6:30 a.m. The Chinese ship then “intentionally sideswiped the BRP Datu Pagbuaya on its starboard side,” following up with a second water cannon attack at 6:55 a.m.
The latest aggressions came after Beijing’s submission of a statement to the United Nations on the baselines of its territorial sea, which included a chart showing Scarborough Shoal as part of its territorial waters.
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. recently signed two landmark laws that aim to define the Philippines’ maritime zones as well as the archipelagic sea laws.
China claims almost all of the South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual shipborne commerce, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei.
In 2016, an international arbitration tribunal in Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines over China’s claims in the South China Sea, saying that it had “no legal basis”. China has not recognized the decision./PN
