231 diplomatic protests filed vs. China since 2016 —DFA

The Philippines has lodged over 200 diplomatic protests against China since President Rodrigo Duterte took office in 2016, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

In a message to reporters, DFA Assistant Secretary Eduardo Meñez said a total of 231 protests have been filed against Beijing as of November 18, 2021.

The protests were mostly in response to Chinese actions toward Filipino authorities in the West Philippine Sea, the latest of which was the harassment of two boats on their way to Ayungin Shoal for a supply mission.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. protested China's action in the Ayungin Shoal "in the strongest terms" and expressed "outrage and condemnation" of the incident, which took place on November 16.

A Philippine Naval vessel, the BRP Sierra Madre, has been grounded at Ayungin Shoal since 1999. The ship manned by more than a dozen Marines and sailors has become a symbol of Philippine sovereignty in the offshore territory.

The shoal is located 174 nautical miles from Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, and is one of the nine areas occupied by Filipino troops in the West Philippine Sea.

China makes massive territorial claims in the resource-rich South China Sea, where the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan have overlapping claims.

Manila has renamed parts of the waters that fall within its territory as West Philippine Sea. —KBK, GMA News