Philippines files protest vs. China as 287 vessels swarm WPS

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. on Thursday ordered the filing of diplomatic protest against China over the presence of 287 Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea.

Defying earlier protests and demands from Manila to withdraw its vessels from Philippine territory, Chinese vessels have remained in Philippine waters as seen during May 9 maritime patrols.

"@DFAPHL fire diplomatic protest," Locsin said on Twitter.

Philippine authorities reported that various Chinese Maritime Militia vessels were scattered in waters within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone — an area that spans 200 nautical miles from the country's baseline that is provided for under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

UNCLOS was signed by 163 UN member-states, including China and the Philippines.

Manila vowed to file diplomatic protests every day until all Chinese ships leave the West Philippine Sea.

The Philippines renamed parts of the South China Sea that fall under the Philippines’ EEZ and continental shelf as West Philippine Sea to assert ownership.

South China Sea is home to a chain of more than 100 islands, shoals, reefs and coral outcrops and straddles one of the world’s most vital sea lanes. Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have overlapping sea claims.

Competing claims in the resource-rich waters have sparked occasional violence and now regarded as a potential regional flashpoint for armed conflict. —KBK, GMA News