MANILA, Philippines — Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Saturday said he won’t allow himself to be fooled by the Chinese government and again demanded the immediate withdrawal of dozens of Chinese vessels from the Julian Felipe (Whitsun) Reef, where China’s ambassador said they had sought shelter from bad weather.
The Philippine government protested the presence of more than 200 vessels, which it said were part of China’s maritime militia at the reef two weeks earlier and demanded that they be pulled out.
On Saturday, Lorenzana said there were still 44 of them at the reef.
“I am no fool,” he said in a statement, which he also posted on Twitter. “The weather has been good s…
Keep on reading: ‘Get out of there’: Lorenzana says 44 Chinese ships still at Julian Felipe Reef