China summons RP official

China summons RP official

MANILA (AFP): China's foreign ministry has summoned a
Philippine embassy official in Beijing to protest the boarding of
four Chinese fishing vessels by the Philippine navy, officials
said here on Thursday.

Acting foreign secretary Lauro Baja said deputy mission chief
Elizabeth Buensuceso was called last week and the protest was
relayed to her verbally.

The Chinese also demanded that military patrol boats and
planes leave the Scarborough Shoal, a disputed outcrop claimed by
both countries where the incident took place last month.

Philippine naval officers boarded the four Chinese boats last
week after they refused to leave the Scarborough Shoal where they
were first seen on Jan. 15.

The military confiscated sea turtles, a protected species that
the Chinese had reportedly illegally gathered. However, they
allowed the Chinese vessels to leave without any arrests.