DFA: 43 protests filed so far vs Chinese incursions in 2023

At least 43 diplomatic protests have been filed by the Philippines against China's actions in the West Philippine Sea this year, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Wednesday. 

"For 2023 and as of September 12, 43 protests against Chinese incursions have been filed," DFA spokesperson Teresita Daza said. 

China has been increasingly assertive in its claim to nearly the entire South China Sea (SCS), a portion of which the Philippines refers to as the West Philippine Sea as it falls under its 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ). 

On February 6, a Chinese vessel directed a laser light at the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) ship BRP Malapascua during a rotation and resupply mission of the Philippine Navy. 

On August 5, Chinese Coast Guard ships not only trained water cannons at the Philippine vessels but also performed dangerous maneuvers to isolate and surround them, the PCG said.

The Philippine vessels were escorting ''indigenous boats'' to deliver food, water, fuel, and other supplies to military troops stationed on the BRP Sierra Madre at the Ayungin Shoal. 

On August 22, the PCG invoked international law and the country's EEZ when it answered the radio challenges transmitted by its Chinese counterparts during the successful resupply mission to the BRP Sierra Madre. 

Also last month, the Philippines rejected Beijing's publication of a new map that places nearly the entire South China Sea within its national boundaries.

The 2023 edition of China's standard map even showed the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh and the Aksai Chin plateau as part of its territory. 

At the ASEAN Summit in Indonesia last week, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. urged the ASEAN and East Asian countries to oppose the dangerous use of coast guards and militia vessels in the SCS. 

Marcos expressed concern about consistent actions that are in violation of obligations under international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the Declaration on the Conduct (DOC) of the Parties in the South China Sea.

He reiterated his call to all parties in the SCS dispute to exercise self-restraint.

In July 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, based on a case filed by Manila, junked Beijing's South China Sea claims, but the Asian power refused to acknowledge the ruling. —VBL, GMA Integrated News