Fishermen who joined the second Atin Ito-led civilian mission to Scarborough Shoal on May 16, 2024. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News 

MANILA – Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. on Friday described China’s new policy of arresting “trespassers” in the South China Sea as a “provocation.”

“I believe what a provocation is is the roguish and irresponsible threat to detain ‘trespassers’ in what is claimed as internal waters but is actually part of the high seas and part of the West Philippine Sea,” Teodoro said in his speech during the Philippine Navy’s 126th anniversary celebration in Manila.

Teodoro said China’s behavior violates the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea or UNCLOS and the United Nations Charter.

“What we do in our exclusive economic zone to how we defend our EEZ can, in no way, be termed by any sane person as a provocation,” he said.  

China renews call for Philippines to stop 'provocations' over South China Sea

Beijing’s controversial regulation, which will take effect in June, allows the China Coast Guard to detain “trespassers” for up to 60 days without trial, according to a report by the South China Morning Post.

The directive was issued following the “Atin Ito” Philippine civilian mission to Panatag Shoal or Scarborough Shoal in the West Philippine Sea.

China threat of arrests in Philippine waters a 'desperate move' — Atin Ito convenor

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, including most of the West Philippine Sea.

However, its claims have been invalidated by the 2016 arbitral tribunal ruling, a decision that Beijing does not recognize.

'Atin Ito Coalition' nagsama ng foreign observers sa WPS