MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines announced Thursday it had filed a diplomatic protest with China over Beijing's establishment of a new prefecture called "Sansha" to administer disputed territories in the South China Sea.
Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez said Sansha's establishment violated Manila's claim to the Scarborough Shoal and parts of the Spratly islands, as well as other areas within the South China Sea.
He said the DFA sent a note verbale to Chinese Ambassador Ma Keqing last June 28 to protest the establishment of Sansha City. He told reporters the ministry was awaiting the Chinese government's response to the protest.
The State Council, or China's Cabinet, earlier approved the establishment of the prefectural-level city of Sansha to administer the Nansha (Spratlys), Xisha (Paracels), and Zhongsha (Macclesfield Bank) islands and their surrounding waters. Sansha means “city of three sands” in Chinese.
A China Daily report, meanwhile, said an aquaculture research center will be built in Sansha.
The base will be located in the Manbu Ansha area, a submerged shoal in the Zhongsha Islands, according to the Hainan Provincial Department of Ocean and Fisheries. With a report from Agence France-Presse. -ABS-CBN News (July 05, 2012 9:34PM)
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