Advertisement
South China Sea heats up as Philippines drops the F-bomb over Chinese boats
- Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jnr calls China an ‘ugly oaf’ in foul-mouthed Twitter outburst as he demands Beijing withdraw vessels near Scarborough Shoal
- While China might ignore the war of words, it could ‘flex its military muscle’ instead, expert warns
Reading Time:4 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
99+
The Philippines has taken the gloves off in its dispute with Beijing over the South China Sea, with its top diplomat dropping the F-bomb as he demanded the withdrawal of Chinese vessels near the Scarborough Shoal.
Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jnr dispensed with diplomatic niceties as he took to Twitter on Monday, calling China an “ugly oaf” and demanding it “get the f*** out” of Philippine maritime waters. His colourful language followed reports that Chinese coastguard ships had harassed their Philippine counterparts in the vicinity of the shoal, which is claimed by both countries.
The shoal lies 220km west of the Philippine island of Luzon and is within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone but is also within the nine-dash line that Beijing uses to stake its claims to more than 90 per cent of the South China Sea.
Advertisement
Locsin’s outburst is the latest escalation in a war of words that has taken a turn for the worse since March, when hundreds of Chinese vessels were spotted lingering near Whitsun Reef, another feature of the South China Sea claimed by both countries.
Advertisement
The Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila said in a statement on Monday that “China has no law enforcement rights in these areas … the unauthorised and lingering presence of these vessels is a blatant infringement of Philippine sovereignty.”
Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2x faster
1.25x
250 WPM
Slow
Average
Fast
1.25x