PH filed 245 diplomatic protests against China since 2022 —DFA

A total of 245 diplomatic protests have been filed by the Philippine government against China over incursions in the West Philippine Sea since 2022, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday.

DFA Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro said the agency so far filed 47 diplomatic protests this year.

“The latest diplomatic protest is what just happened recently in Bajo de Masinloc,” Lazaro said during a Senate hearing on Tuesday.

“We’ve been discussing this issue lengthily during meetings with the security agencies. there are other proposals, but probably I can give it to you in a confidential manner,” she told Senator Imee Marcos.

Aside from the protests, Lazaro said the Philippines can also tap the bilateral consultative mechanism on the South China Sea, along with foreign ministry consultations, to address concerns in the West Philippine Sea.

To recall, ships of the China Coast Guard (CCG) and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy collided approximately 10.5 nautical miles east of Bajo de Masinloc on August 11,  after chasing the Philippines’ BRP Suluan at high speed.

The Philippines has maintained that the Bajo de Masinloc is part of its territory, as ruled by an international tribunal in 2016, which also invalidated Beijing’s massive South China Sea claims.

China has refused to acknowledge such ruling, and its government in 2022 claimed that it will continue to adhere to what it described as a “friendly consultation” with the Philippines after several Chinese vessels have been found “swarming” areas in the West Philippine Sea.

The Philippine Navy on Tuesday also said the military is checking the area after it received reports of underwater structures in Bajo de Masinloc, considering that China supposedly attempted to build a steel structure in 1997, which was blown up by Filipino forces. —AOL, GMA Integrated News