MANILA: The Philippines on Sunday accused China of"incursion" after more than 200 militia boats were spotted near a disputed reef in the South China Sea, in a rare rebuke of its superpower neighbour.
"This is a clear provocative action of militarizing the area. These are territories well within Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone." "Despite clear weather at the time, the Chinese vessels massed at the reef showed no actual fishing activities," the agency said.The United States has previously accused China of using maritime militia to"intimidate, coerce and threaten other nations" over its claims to almost the entire South China Sea.China has ignored a 2016 international tribunal decision that declared its assertion as without basis.
He has repeatedly said conflict with China would be futile and that the Philippines would lose and suffer heavily in the process.In August he accused China of illegally occupying Filipino maritime territory, saying the nine-dash line used by Beijing to justify its alleged historic rights to the key waterway was a fabrication.
China has been doing this selami slicing for a long time, spreading chaos in the region.
Singapore Latest News, Singapore Headlines
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