Philippines Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. told China to “get the f—k out” of what is known domestically as the West Philippines Sea in a post on Twitter Monday amid rising tensions over the South China Sea.
Locsin criticized Beijing over Chinese vessels that intimidated Filipino ships in the country’s territorial waters.
“China, my friend, how politely can I put it? Let me see… O…GET THE FUCK OUT. What are you doing to our friendship? You. Not us. We’re trying. You. You’re like an ugly oaf forcing your attentions on a handsome guy who wants to be a friend; not to father a Chinese province …,” Locsin wrote.
The secretary went on to reference a 2016 decision by a United Nations-backed tribunal, which determined that the Philippines has exclusive sovereign rights over the West Philippine Sea, an area in the South China Sea.
“Having found that none of the features claimed by China was capable of generating an exclusive economic zone, the Tribunal found that it could — without delimiting a boundary — declare that certain sea areas are within the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines, because those areas are not overlapped by any possible entitlement of China,” the tribunal stated.
“He doesn’t have a uterus. If he tried to give birth to a Chinese province it would be a ball of crap at best and the end of the regime,” Locsin continued on Twitter. “What is it so hard to understand about Duterte’s UN declaration that the Arbitral Award made all maritime features Philippines; no one else’s?”
The secretary’s remarks came less than two weeks after the Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs filed two diplomatic protests against China as the nation’s ships lingered in Philippine maritime zones, CNN Philippines reported.
According to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the protests were filed against the nonstop deployment, continued presence, and persistent Chinese activities in the West Philippine Sea.
“The presence of these vessels blatantly infringe upon Philippine sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction,” the department said in a statement.
The two protests add to daily notes filed by the DFA against China. As of April 20, 160 Chinese fishing vessels and maritime militia had reportedly been spotted by law enforcement within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone near the Kalayaan Island Group and the territorial waters of Bajo de Masinloc.
At least five Chinese Coast Guard ships were also observed by the Pag-asa Island, Bajo de Masinloc, and Ayungin Shoal.
“The continued swarming and threatening presence of the Chinese vessels creates an atmosphere of instability and is a blatant disregard of the commitments by China to promote peace and stability in the region,” the department said.
