The Philippines filed another diplomatic protest against Beijing – its second in two weeks – over the continued swarming of Chinese ships around Julian Felipe (Whitsun) Reef, and vowed to file more “for every day of delay” in their departure from Philippine waters. “Firing a diplomatic protest even as we tweet,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said yesterday on Twitter. Manila filed its first diplomatic protest over the issue on March 21. The Department of Foreign (DFA) also deplored the Chinese embassy’s show of disrespect to Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana when the latter demanded the withdrawal of the Chinese maritime militia ships from Julian Felipe Reef, which is within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

Lee-Brago, P., Romero, P., Felipe, C. S., & Villanueva, R. (2021, April 6). Phl turns up heat on China over boats in WPS. The Philippine Star, p. 2.