Diplomatic protests are confidential, Locsin tells subordinates
Published Apr 23, 2020 12:00 am
By Roy Mabasa
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. has directed the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) not to disclose anything about the content of the two diplomatic protests filed by the Philippines against China, saying the documents are “strictly confidential”.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr.
(PRESIDENTIAL PHOTOS / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO) “@DFAPHL we worked on this the whole day. And that is all will be said on it because diplomatic notes are strictly confidential between the two state parties. Period,” the foreign affairs chief said in a tweet late Wednesday night. Locsin was referring to the diplomatic protests lodged at the Chinese Embassy in Manila on Wednesday relating to China’s two recent aggressive actions in the South China Sea - the pointing of a radar gun at a Philippine Navy ship in Philippine waters and declaring parts of the Philippine territory as part of Hainan province. These, he said, are “violations of international law and Philippine sovereignty.” “I expect that no one else in the government will comment on it because they are not competent to do it. Only the President himself can reveal these notes of his alter ego the Secretary of Foreign Affairs and rule thereon,” he said in a separate tweet. It was reported last week that China created two new districts in the South China Sea that will govern Paracels and the Spratlys, areas where there are multiple overlapping claims. Locsin noted this was not the first time that China declared certain parts of the South China Sea under its jurisdiction. “China created Nansha district under the jurisdiction of Sansha City, akin to something we already protested in 2012. Old hat but bears repeating the protest,” he said. Before the establishment of the two districts, a Chinese Coast Guard vessel sank a Vietnamese fishing boat near the Paracels. On April 8, 2020, the Philippines expressed its solidarity with Vietnam as it conveyed its “deep concern” over China’s sinking of the fishing boat. For the Philippines, it was reminiscent of the June 2019 incident when a Chinese ship rammed and sank a Philippine-registered fishing boat (Gem-Ver) in Recto bank. Vietnamese fishermen passing by the area rescued the abandoned Filipino fishermen hours after the incident. The Philippines, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan are locked in conflicting claims in the South China Sea.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr.(PRESIDENTIAL PHOTOS / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO) “@DFAPHL we worked on this the whole day. And that is all will be said on it because diplomatic notes are strictly confidential between the two state parties. Period,” the foreign affairs chief said in a tweet late Wednesday night. Locsin was referring to the diplomatic protests lodged at the Chinese Embassy in Manila on Wednesday relating to China’s two recent aggressive actions in the South China Sea - the pointing of a radar gun at a Philippine Navy ship in Philippine waters and declaring parts of the Philippine territory as part of Hainan province. These, he said, are “violations of international law and Philippine sovereignty.” “I expect that no one else in the government will comment on it because they are not competent to do it. Only the President himself can reveal these notes of his alter ego the Secretary of Foreign Affairs and rule thereon,” he said in a separate tweet. It was reported last week that China created two new districts in the South China Sea that will govern Paracels and the Spratlys, areas where there are multiple overlapping claims. Locsin noted this was not the first time that China declared certain parts of the South China Sea under its jurisdiction. “China created Nansha district under the jurisdiction of Sansha City, akin to something we already protested in 2012. Old hat but bears repeating the protest,” he said. Before the establishment of the two districts, a Chinese Coast Guard vessel sank a Vietnamese fishing boat near the Paracels. On April 8, 2020, the Philippines expressed its solidarity with Vietnam as it conveyed its “deep concern” over China’s sinking of the fishing boat. For the Philippines, it was reminiscent of the June 2019 incident when a Chinese ship rammed and sank a Philippine-registered fishing boat (Gem-Ver) in Recto bank. Vietnamese fishermen passing by the area rescued the abandoned Filipino fishermen hours after the incident. The Philippines, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan are locked in conflicting claims in the South China Sea.