On Jan. 29, 2021, the Philippines filed a strongly worded diplomatic protest against China’s passage of a law authorizing the Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) to use force against foreign vessels in the contested waters of the South China Sea. The filing of this diplomatic protest was a reversal of Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Teodoro Locsin, Jr.’s earlier statement that the passage of the National People’s Congress of China’s CCG’s law was none of the Philippines’ business. Secretary Locsin explained that: “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.”

de Castro, R. (2021, February 10). The tip of the spear: The Chinese Coast Guard in the South China Sea. BusinessWorld, p. S1/4.