On Mon, Dec 28, China expressed outrage after 50 Filipino protesters — most of whom were students — landed on the disputed Philippine-held (Thitu) Island in the Spratly archipelago in the West Philippine Sea.
“The protesters reached Pag-asa (Thitu) Island in the Spratly archipelago on Saturday, Dec 26, to stage a protest against they say is Beijing’s creeping invasion of the Philippine exclusive economic zone,” reports Reuters.
The report noted: “Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang reiteratedng that China has indisputable sovereignty over the Spratly islands and that they were ‘strongly dissatisfied’ by what the Filipinos had done.”
The report further pointed out that “China claims almost all the South China Sea, believed to have huge deposits of oil and gas, through which about USD$5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims.”
meanwhile, the protesters tagged their move as “a patriotic voyage.” They plan to camp on the island for three days “in a symbolic act of defiance.”
