Philippine Foreign Minister Enrique Manalo said Monday that his country wants to solve maritime disputes with China peacefully — but delivered a simple message to Beijing: "Stop harassing us."
Speaking on the sidelines of an ASEAN-Australia summit in Melbourne, Manalo defended his government's policy of publicizing Chinese maneuvers in contested maritime territory — including the recent passage of warships near Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea.
"It's merely trying to inform the people of what's going on," Manolo said. "And some countries or one country at least has some difficulty with that.