Philippines and China now swap protests over Manila-occupied island

China Coast Guard vessels patrol past a Chinese fishing vessel at the disputed Scarborough Shoal, April 5, 2017. Picture taken April 5, 2017. - Reuters

MANILA, May 29(AP): The Philippines has demanded that China withdraw its ships and fishing vessels from the vicinity of a Philippine-occupied island in the South China Sea, where the Chinese military has asserted its sovereignty and vowed to "unswervingly safeguard” the disputed territory.

The exchange of protests by the Asian neighbours over the island, internationally called Thitu, is the latest flareup in a long simmering territorial feud in the strategic waterway that has escalated in the last two months.