Rodrigo Duterte’s government raises its voice for the presence of some 220 Chinese ships, manned by maritime forces, around a coral reef west of Palawan in the western Philippine Sea.
The National Task Force for the Western Philippine Sea – the body that monitors strategic waters in Manila – has reported that the approximately 220 Chinese fishing boats have been spotted by the Philippine Coast Guard near the Julian Felipe coral reef (Whitsun Reef).
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana therefore asked China to withdraw the 220 manned boats, arguing that the deployment violates the maritime rights and sovereignty of the country. Lorenzana spoke of “raid”: “We ask China to put an end to this raid and immediately take away these ships that violate our maritime rights and invade our sovereign territory”.
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