Jakarta, CNN Indonesia –
With a sworn oath, Minister of Foreign Affairs Filipina, Teodoro Locsin, demanded China pulling hundreds of ships out of the way South China Sea which is the dispute.
“China, my friend, how can I say it politely? Let me think, oh yeah, OUT,” Locsin said via a tweet on his personal Twitter account on Sunday (3/5).
“What have you (China) done to our friendship? Yes, you. Not us. We have tried. We are. You are like a fool forcing the attention of handsome men,” he added.
Locsin made this outspoken comment in response to the presence of hundreds of “illegal” Chinese vessels in the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the South China Sea in recent times.
To assert its sovereignty, the Philippines also sent military ships to train in the South China Sea area.
The incident again strained relations between Manila and Beijing. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has even made it clear that he will not withdraw the ships.
The Philippine Foreign Ministry also accused the Chinese militia vessels of “obstructing dangerous maneuvers and radio challenges from the country’s coast guard vessels” in these waters.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to Locsin’s request for comment.
However, Chinese officials previously said that the ships in the Whitsun reef cluster, South China Sea, were fishing fleets that were taking refuge from the violent waves of the high seas.
China and the Philippines are involved in territorial disputes in the South China Sea. China claims almost the entire area of the South China Sea through which most of the world’s ships with a trade value of up to US $ 3 trillion each year.
In 2016, the Philippines also sued China for its historical claims in these waters to the Permanent Arbitration Court (PCA).
Although the Philippines won the lawsuit, China continues to insist on claiming historical rights to waters that are rich in natural resources as well.
On April 26, the Philippines admitted to having lodged 78 diplomatic protests with China since Duterte took office in 2016.
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