Banners declaring Philippines a ‘province

of China’ appear in Manila on second

anniversary of Hague arbitration win
The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled two
years ago that China had no historic title over the waters of the
South China Sea and it had breached the Philippines’ sovereign
rights by blocking its fishermen and building artificial islands
PUBLISHED : Thursday, 12 July, 2018, 3:13pm
UPDATED : Thursday, 12 July, 2018, 4:47pm

Banners calling the Philippines a “province of China” mysteriously appeared

on bridges in Manila on Thursday, sparking fury on social media on what was
the second anniversary of Manila’s victory over Beijing in a landmark
arbitration case.

The terms “province of China” and “South China Sea” trended prominently on
Twitter, while news reports of the sudden appearance of the red tarpaulin
banners along key thoroughfares generated thousands of shares and
comments on Facebook.
No group claimed responsibility for the banners, which feature English and
Chinese characters and a Chinese flag flanked by dragons. City authorities
were seen removing some of them, which were spotted in at least five
locations.

Emojis denoting anger or surprise dominated comments on social media next

to pictures of the signs, which say “Welcome to the Philippines, Province of
China”.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled two years ago that
China had no historic title over the waters of the South China Sea and it had
breached the Philippines’ sovereign rights by blocking its fishermen and
building artificial islands in its exclusive economic zone.

“NOT FUNNY”, former solicitor general and chief lawyer for the Philippine
case, Florin Hilbay, posted on his social media accounts.

Some users accused the political opposition of making the signs to discredit
the government’s warming ties with China.

Other chided the government for not challenging China’s assertiveness in the
South China Sea. “This is too much. The country was sold off,” one Facebook
user said.The two countries have a bitter history of disputes over maritime
sovereignty, but under President Rodrigo Duterte, who took office just two
weeks before The Hague ruling, Manila has taken a conciliatory approach and
wants China’s loans, trade and investments.

Duterte frequently praises Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping and in February

caused a stir when he jokingly offered the Philippines to Beijing as a province
of China.

The Philippines scored an “own goal” in its failure to press China to implement
the arbitration ruling, opposition party Akbayan said.

During an event to mark the anniversary of the ruling, Vice-President Leni

Robredo, who was elected separately to Duterte, said Filipinos should
peacefully protest against the government’s inaction.

Duterte’s spokesman, Harry Roque, called the banners “absurd” and said it
was likely the government’s political enemies were behind them.

China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for

comment.