Filipinos in New York mark PH's arbitral win vs. China with protest

NEW YORK - Various groups from the Filipino community staged a protest in front of the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in West Manhattan, New York to mark the 8th anniversary of the Philippines' arbitral win against Beijing's claim in the West Philippine Sea. 

The group "Malaya USA" demanded a stronger response to what it described as China's bullying in the region amid recent incidents involving the Philippine Coast Guard.

They said they do not wish for war, but they hope that the Philippine troops would respond with the same actions that China is doing to them.

Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion in annual ship commerce. Its territorial claims overlap with those of the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei.

Manila refers parts of the waters within its exclusive economic zone as the West Philippine Sea.

In 2016, an international arbitration tribunal in the Hague ruled that China's claims over the South China Sea had no legal basis, a decision Beijing does not recognize.

POGO

The protesters also expressed  concerns about what it called "worsening crime" supposedly brought by the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) in the country.

According to Bobby Ticzón of the Global Transparency and Transformation Advocate Network, he finds the handling of the POGO issue in the Philippines "lacking."

"In his handling of the West Philippine Sea, I gave him (Marcos) a passing mark, but on the POGO issue, no, he is lacking. POGO should be banned, an executive order can do that, the Senate is not needed," he said. 

The New York Police Department closely guarded the protesters, who peacefully dispersed after expressing their anger and condemnation of China’s bullying of the Philippines.

—VAL, GMA Integrated News