The Philippine government has lodged a diplomatic protest, calling on China to ensure its vessels cease “aggressive activities” after the Chinese coastguard used a “military-grade laser” to try to block one of its ships in the South China Sea.
“These acts of aggression by China are disturbing and disappointing,” Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Teresita Daza, said in a statement on Tuesday, noting that Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr had recently concluded a state visit to China.
During the visit, Marcos Jr and Chinese President Xi Jinping had agreed to manage maritime differences in the South China Sea through diplomacy and dialogue, Daza said.
The Chinese coastguard had also engaged in dangerous manoeuvres that risked a collision, the ministry said, adding that such behaviour “constituted a threat” to the sovereignty and security of the Philippines and infringed on the country’s “rights and jurisdictions over its exclusive economic zone”, the official Philippine News Agency reported in a tweet.
