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DFA protests ‘provocative acts’

October 21, 2021 Cristina Lee-Pisco 305 views

THE Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) protested against the Chinese “provocative acts” in the Philippine territory when it illegally sent radio challenges against Philippine authorities patrolling the country’s waters.

A statement was posted on the DFA’s official Twitter account on Wednesday evening saying the Department protested the “unlawful issuance of over 200 radio challenges, sounding of sirens, and blowing of horns by Chinese government vessels” against Filipino authorities “conducting legitimate, customary, and routine patrols over and around the Philippines’ territory and maritime zones.”

“These provocative acts threaten the peace, good order, and security of the South China Sea and run contrary to China’s obligations under international law,” it said.

The Philippines has filed several diplomatic protests this year over the illegal presence and activities of Chinese vessels within the country’s 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone.

Last month, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. instructed the DFA to lodge a note verbale against Beijing’s “incessant and unlawful” restriction imposed on Filipino fishermen in the Scarborough Shoal, a feature located 124 nautical miles off the coast of Masinloc, Zambales.

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