Philippines protests China's 'threatening' South China Sea presence

Chinese diplomats have denied that military forces were aboard the vessels. - Reuters

MANILA, April 23 (Reuters): The Philippines has sent two new diplomatic protests to China over its failure to withdraw what it called on Friday "threatening" vessels that were massing in contested areas of the South China Sea.

The Philippines has ramped up its rhetoric in recent weeks over the lingering presence of hundreds of Chinese boats in its 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), testing relations between two countries that have sought to heal their historic rifts.