Locsin says 60 protests sent to China over WPS

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine government has “fired off” a total of 60 diplomatic protests against the incursions of China on the West Philippine Sea (WPS), Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin told lawmakers on Wednesday.

But Locsin rejected a request to make public copies of the protests, saying these were “matters of executive communication” between the Philippines and China.

“Even if I believe that filing a diplomatic protest is like throwing paper at a brick wall, I do it… because that way, nobody can say that we have given up what we believe are our rights,” he said.

The official also dismissed as “a total fabrication and… a complete lie,” reports that President Duterte had invoked the arbitral ruling favoring the Philippines’ claim on the WPS “apologetically” in his bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Aug. 29. —Melvin Gascon