Philippines protests China 'swarming' around disputed reef

A Philippine coast guard personnel monitoring a Chinese coast guard ship shadowing their vessel in the South China Sea. - AFP

MANILA (AFP): The Philippines has protested the "illegal" presence of over a hundred Chinese boats around a disputed reef in the flashpoint South China Sea, describing it as a source of regional instability, the government said.

Authorities spotted the boats around the boomerang-shaped Whitsun Reef in April -- a year after a similar "swarming" incident caused a diplomatic row -- but the foreign office waited till Thursday (June 9) to disclose it had launched a formal complaint with the Chinese embassy in Manila.