21/05/2013
The Philippines has formally protested the “provocative and illegal” presence of Chinese government ships around a shoal within the Philippine continental shelf in the South China Sea, asserting exclusive rights to use resources within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Tuesday that the Philippines has filed a diplomatic protest to complain China’s encroachment into the Philippines’ established maritime borders, with the entry of at least three government ships around the Ayungin Shoal.
“We have already sent communications on this. We have already told them about our position regarding these vessels, which have intruded in our EEZ,” DFA spokesperson Assistant Secretary Raul Hernandez in a press briefing on Tuesday.
Asked what such “communications” were, Hernandez said: “When we send communications on things like this, when there are intrusions, we file protests.”
The DFA filed the protest with the Chinese Embassy in Manila on May 10 following confirmation that at least three Chinese government ships were seen near Co May shoal (Philippines calls it Ayungin Shoal).
Read more at Philippine Daily Inquirer
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