Cayetano urged to show proof of diplomatic protest vs China

Vice President Leni Robredo’s camp has challenged Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano to release the “50 to 100 diplomatic protests” he claimed the government has filed against China in the last two years.

“Kung gusto talaga ni Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano na magkaroon ang publiko ng “tamang impormasyon” tungkol sa panghihimasok ng Tsina sa West Philippine Sea, simulan niya sa paglabas ng “50 to 100 diplomatic protests” na sinampa daw ng DFA laban sa Tsina,” Robredo spokesperson Atty. Barry Gutierrez said in a statement on Tuesday.

(If Secretary Allan Peter Cayetano wants the public to have the correct information on China’s actions in the West Philippine Sea, he will release the “50 to 100 diplomatic protests” that he said the government has filed against China.)

READ: PH filed diplomatic protest vs China over WPS militarization – Palace

“Dokumento hindi kuwento. Hihintayin namin (Documents, not stories. We will wait for that),” he added.

During a House Special Panel hearing on the West Philippine Sea last May, Cayetano said the government has filed 50 to 100 diplomatic protests against China since President Rodrigo Duterte assumed office.

He also clarified that protests come in many forms and that a simple objection by the President could already be considered a diplomatic protest.

Cayetano has repeatedly defended the government’s stance in the sea dispute, claiming that the country is enjoying the sovereign rights it gained from the 2016 arbitral ruling.

READ: Philippines wins arbitration case vs. China over South China Sea

He denied that there was a secret deal between Manila and Beijing concerning the South China Sea issue. /ee

READ: Key points of arbitral tribunal’s verdict on PH-China dispute