The Philippines “strongly” protested China’s establishment of two new districts in the disputed South China Sea and the illegal designation of Kagitingan Reef within the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) as administrative center of “Nansha” district. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the Philippines also objects and does not recognize the Chinese names given to some features in the KIG. “The Philippine government strongly protests the establishment of the so-called districts of ‘Nansha’ and ‘Xisha’ under the supposed administrative jurisdiction of its self-declared ‘Sansha City’ announced on April 18, 2020, by the People’s Republic of China,” the DFA said in a statement.

Lee-Brago, P. (2020, May 1). Phl protests China’s latest SCS actions. The Philippine Star, p. 3.