The Chinese coastguard conducted an "illegal action" during the June 17 incident, said Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. - Photo: Reuters
MANILA: Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said on Thursday (June 27) that an incident last week at a disputed shoal in the South China Sea was not an “armed attack” by China against Manila’s sailors and vessels, but the country needs to “do more” than protest.
“We have filed over a hundred protests, we have already made a similar number of demarche,” Marcos told reporters.
“We have to do more than just that.”
While not considered an armed attack, the Chinese coastguard conducted an “illegal action” in preventing a regular resupply of troops, Marcos said.
During the June 17 incident, a Philippine sailor suffered a “serious injury” after what its military described as “intentional-high speed ramming” by the Chinese Coast Guard, aiming to disrupt a resupply mission for troops stationed on the Second Thomas Shoal.
China’s foreign ministry has disputed the Philippines’ account, with a spokesperson saying on June 20 that the necessary measures taken by the coast guard were lawful and professional.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei. - Reuters
