A group of youth volunteers who sailed to Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal on Independence Day to plant a Philippine flag in the disputed rock claimed they were harassed by the Chinese Coast Guard, resulting in a four-hour standoff. A statement posted on the Kalayaan Atin Ito Facebook page said as the group reached the vicinity of Scarborough around 7:30 a.m. Sunday, two Chinese Coast Guard speed boats intercepted them. “After a few minutes, the mother Chinese Coast Guard ship and two big Chinese Coast Guard boats arrived. They ordered us to go back to mainland Philippines stating that the ‘lake’ (Scarborough Shoal lagoon) belongs to China,” the statement read. This undated handout photo taken from the Facebook account of Kalayaan Atin Ito (Kalayaan This Is Ours), a group of Filipino activists, made available to Agence France-Presse on June 13, 2016 shows a Filipino activists posing for photo at the bow of [...]
