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— The incursion of Chinese vessels into Philippine waters has remained unabated, with the government already filing 48 diplomatic protests against Beijing over the aggressive behavior of its ships in the West Philippine Sea since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. took office in June, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Foreign Assistant Secretary for Maritime and Ocean Affairs Maria Angela Ponce told the Senate committee on foreign relations last Thursday that for this year, there have been 172 protests filed against China as of Aug. 31. There were 388 diplomatic protests filed against China under the Duterte administration.
The diplomatic protests covered incidents that involved illegal fishing, the illegal presence of Chinese vessels, harassment of fishermen and enforcement agencies, and unauthorized marine scientific research.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, although the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Brunei, and Malaysia have overlapping claims. The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague had ruled in 2016 that Beijing’s nine-dash line and historic rights claims were invalid, a decision Beijing refused to acknowledge.
Two protest notes have also been filed against Vietnam, Ponce said.
Defense Undersecretary Angelito de Leon said in the same hearing, “The current situation in the West Philippine Sea remains to be worth looking into because there are certain concerns on security.
