Locsin wants Chinese vessels swarming around Pag-asa out

MANILA, Philippines — Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said he wants the Chinese vessels swarming around Pag-asa Island out.

In an interview with CNN Philippines, Locsin said “Yes,” when asked if he wants the Chinese vessels out of the vicinity of Pag-asa (Thitu) Island, which is the main island feature in the Philippine-occupied Kalayaan Island Group.

He added that the diplomatic notes the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) had filed asked the Chinese government to pull out its vessels from Pag-asa Island.

Earlier, the country’s top diplomat said that he “fired off a salvo of diplomatic notes” to China prior to his Beijing trip last March.

Locsin further disclosed that the diplomatic notes addressed to China included the DFA’s position on the issue.

“The message is what you’re doing, in our point of view, illegal…improper and certainly against the spirit of any agreement we have made,” Locsin said.

“The agreement is don’t move to other islands, and now they swarm around Pag-asa,” he added.  /muf