Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte gestures during his fourth State of the Nation Address at the Philippine Congress in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines July 22, 2019. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez
MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines will lodge a protest over the unannounced presence of two Chinese research vessels in its exclusive economic zone (EEZ), one of at least three diplomatic challenges in recent weeks amid a souring of relations.
The protest comes ahead of President Rodrigo Duterte's planned visit to Beijing this month, during which he has promised to raise Manila's South China Sea international arbitration victory over Beijing with leader Xi Jinping, having avoided confronting the thorny issue for three years.
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