The Philippines has filed a diplomatic protest against China over its law authorizing its coast guard to shoot foreign vessels in areas it claims in the disputed South China Sea, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said on Wednesday. “After reflection, I fired a diplomatic protest,” Locsin said, in his Twitter post. “While enacting law is a sovereign prerogative, this one—given the area involved or for that matter the open South China Sea—is a verbal threat of war to any country that defies the law, which, if unchallenged, is submission to it,” Locsin added. A Filipino security and Chinese studies expert said Wednesday this new Chinese law allowing its coast guard to fire on foreign vessels found to be infringing on their sovereignty or jurisdictions can be challenged before the international community if the use of force is found “unlawful.”

Requejo, R. E., & Ramos-Araneta, M. (2021, January 28). PH blasts China's law on SCS: DFA tags it as ‘war threat’ in allowing Sino coast guards to fire at foreign ships. Manila Standard, pp. A1, A2.