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MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines has protested China’s imposition of a unilateral four-month lengthy fishing ban within the South China Sea, its international ministry mentioned on Monday.
The annual imposition of a fishing ban raises tensions within the South China Sea, the international ministry mentioned, calling on Beijing to “stop and desist” from “unlawful actions” that violate the Philippines’ sovereignty and sovereign rights.
China imposes an annual fishing ban on South China Sea waters and the Philippines routinely opposes it. This yr’s ban is anticipated to final till September.
The Philippines’ international affairs division (DFA) has protested the ban via a diplomatic be aware, saying the fishing moratorium covers waters inside its maritime zones.
“The Philippines pressured that the unilateral imposition of the fishing moratorium raises tensions within the West Philippine Sea and the South China Sea,” the DFA mentioned in a press release.
China’s embassy in Manila didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Philippine Protection Secretary Gilberto Teodoro final week mentioned China’s guidelines about how its Coast Guard can function within the South China have been a “provocation”.
China claims nearly all the South China Sea, a conduit for greater than $3 trillion in annual ship commerce. Its territorial claims overlap with waters claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei.
In 2016, a global arbitral tribunal mentioned China’s claims had no authorized foundation, a call Beijing has rejected.
(Reporting by Mikhail Flores and Neil Jerome Morales; Enhancing by John Mair)
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