Philippines summons Chinese ambassador over South China Sea ‘harassment.’ On Tuesday, the Philippine Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it had called China’s ambassador to Manila to express its disapproval of “back-to-back harassments” that occurred in the South China Sea over the weekend.
According to a statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Manila has requested that China instruct its warships to stop engaging in what it deems to be unlawful acts and risky maneuvers performed against Philippine vessels, as well as to refrain from interfering with legitimate activities carried out by the Philippines.
Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro verbally made the complaint. She was protesting the Chinese maneuvers that led to a collision, as well as the deployment of water cannons on Philippine vessels that were delivering supplies to troops stationed aboard an aging battleship near the Second Thomas Shoal.
“The actions of the Chinese vessels within the Philippine exclusive economic zone are illegal and violate the freedom of navigation,” stated the ministry.
Additionally, it voiced its disapproval of China’s deployment of water cannons on three vessels belonging to the Fisheries Bureau en route to provide oil and supplies to fishermen near the Scarborough shoal.
Response requests were sent to the Chinese embassy in Manila but were not immediately responded to.
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