RP military wants diplomatic protest

Fri, 04 Jun 1999, 00:00 WIB | Source: AFP

MANILA (AFP): Philippine defense officials are pressing the
government to file a diplomatic protest against China over the
harassment of a stricken Filipino naval logistics vessel by two
Chinese warships, the navy said on Thursday.

China has dismissed reports of the incident in the disputed
Spratly archipelago in the South China Sea, denying that its
warships strayed into the area and accusing Manila of
"artificially" creating tension.

"The Philippine navy is standing by its report that on May 15,
two warships bearing red flags stayed one mile away from a navy
logistics ship for 45 minutes and did not do anything (to help)
the ship," navy commander Vice Admiral Eduardo Santos said.

Asked to confirm the navy's allegations that two Chinese
frigates had trained their guns on the Filipino ship, Santos told
reporters: "I am standing by the initial report because we want
to let everybody know what happened."

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