PHL to file another diplomatic protest vs China's aggressions in WPS

The Philippines will file another diplomatic protest against China over its recent aggressions in Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal) and Escoda Shoal (Sabina Shoal) in the West Philippine Sea (WPS). 

“Will be submitting our protest,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo told GMA Integrated News' JP Soriano in an interview on Thursday. 

“It’s very clear, I mean we were within our legal rights. Certainly, we don’t understand why China again is repeating these actions which are clearly illegal,” Manalo said. 

On Wednesday, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said the China Coast Guard (CCG) launched water cannon attacks and rammed a vessel of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) that was on a maritime patrol in the vicinity of Bajo de Masinloc.

CCG 3302 fired a water cannon at BFAR vessel BRP Datu Pagbuaya (MMOV 3003) at around 6:30 a.m. The Chinese ship then "intentionally sideswiped the BRP Datu Pagbuaya on its starboard side," following up with a second water cannon attack at 6:55 a.m.

The Chinese Embassy in Manila said Philippine vessels had attempted to intrude into Chinese territorial waters off Huangyan Dao, China's name for Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough Shoal. It claimed that CCG forces had acted lawfully to control the situation.

Over the weekend, the CCG also conducted dangerous maneuvers against PCG vessels in the vicinity of Escoda Shoal as the Filipino vessels BRP Cape Engaño and BRP Melchora Aquino were on their way to Rozul Reef to assist Filipino fishermen who were earlier harassed by CCG.

The latest incidents came on the heels of Beijing’s submission of a statement to the United Nations on the baselines of its territorial sea, which included a chart showing Scarborough Shoal as part of its territorial waters.

Last month, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. signed two landmark laws that aim to define the Philippines' maritime zones as well as the archipelagic sea laws.

China promptly summoned the Philippines' ambassador to express its objection to two new laws, asserting maritime rights and sovereignty over disputed areas of the South China Sea, Beijing's foreign ministry said.

Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual shipborne commerce, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei.

In 2016, an international arbitration tribunal in Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines over China's claims in the South China Sea, saying that it had "no legal basis." China has not recognized the decision.—Sundy Locus/AOL, GMA Integrated News