MANILA, Philippines — In a rare move touching on the Philippines’ ties with the strongest economic and military power in Asia, the country’s largest chamber of commerce and other business groups on Wednesday joined calls on China to withdraw its maritime militia vessels from the West Philippine Sea and to stop acting like the colonizers that once subjugated the Chinese nation.
The latest diplomatic spat between Manila and Beijing began last month over the presence of more than 200 Chinese vessels that swarmed Julian Felipe (Whitsun) Reef, which is well within the 370-kilometer exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the Philippines.
On Tuesday night, the National Task Force for the …
Keep on reading: Stop acting like a colonizer, PH business groups tell China