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The Philippines lodged a diplomatic protest against China on Tuesday after a Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) ship targeted a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessel with a military-grade laser in disputed waters earlier this month.
The incident, which reportedly caused temporary blindness among Filipino crew members, occurred near Second Thomas Shoal, 105 nautical miles (approximately 121 miles) off the Philippine province of Palawan — well within the country’s 200-nautical mile (approximately 230 miles) exclusive economic zone (EEZ) — in the West Philippine Sea on Feb. 6.
The shoal, locally known as Ayungin, houses a Philippine military contingent aboard a World War II ship that was placed to reinforce Manila’s sovereignty in the area in 1999.
In its eighth protest against the Chinese Embassy in Manila this year — and 203rd overall — the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) condemned “the shadowing, harassment, dangerous maneuvers, directing of military-grade laser and illegal radio challenges” posed by CCG ship 5205 against the PCG vessel, BRP Malapascua, as it carried out a resupply mission to the shoal.
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DFA spokesperson Ma. Teresita Daza described China’s actions as “acts of aggression” that are “disturbing and disappointing” as they occurred just a month after Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. landed in Beijing for a state visit.
She asserted in a statement:
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The DFA also called on China to comply with its obligations under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), as well as the 2016 Award in the South China Sea Arbitration, which ruled that Beijing’s expansive maritime claims have no basis in international law and that it has no lawful claims to areas of the…
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