Flags of the Philippines (left) and China (right). INQUIRER.net stock images
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has recorded 101 Chinese responses to the diplomatic protests of the Philippines in 2022.
The DFA issued 195 diplomatic protests against China’s intrusion and harassment in the West Philippine Sea last year.
“For 2022, the total number of Chinese responses to [Philippine] protests is 101,” DFA spokesperson Ma. Teresita Daza told reporters in a message on Friday.
“[Please] note there is no one to one correspondence on [Philippine] protests and China’s reply. China sometimes addresses multiple protests with one single reply note,” she pointed out.
For 2023, the Philippines so far lodged nine protests against China.
Under the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., or since June 2022, a total of 76 diplomatic protests were filed.
On Friday, the Philippines called on China to stop its harassment in the West Philippine Sea, noting that it destabilizes peace and stability in the region.
READ: PH to China: Stop harassment in West Philippine Sea
The most recent Chinese harassment in the West Philippine Sea happened on February 6 when the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said a Chinese Coast Guard ship directed a “military-grade” laser toward the Philippine vessel, causing temporary blindness of its crew members.
READ: China harasses Philippine Coast Guard vessel with laser
China, however, claimed that the PCG was within their Ren’ai Reef.
READ: PH intruded into Chinese waters, Beijing claims
In 2016, the Philippines won its case against China before the United Nations-backed Permanent Court of Arbitration, which invalidated Beijing’s nine-dash line claim that covers almost the entire South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea and the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.