MANILA — Hundreds of Filipinos demonstrated outside the Chinese embassy in the Philippines Friday over an escalating territorial row, with the protesters denouncing China’s rulers as arrogant bullies.

Waving national flags, the protesters called for Chinese ships to pull away from a disputed shoal in the South China Sea where both nations have had ships stationed for more than a month in an effort to assert their sovereignty.

“Our protest is directed at the overbearing actions and stance of the government in Beijing, which behaves like an arrogant overlord, even in the homes of its neighbors,” said rally organizer Loida Nicholas Lewis.

The protesters carried placards that read: “China stop bullying the Philippines,” “Make Peace Not War,” and “China, Stop Poaching in Philippine Waters.”
The protesters prayed, sang patriotic hymns and chanted anti-China slogans. They left quietly after a one-hour protest under close watch of dozens of police.

Before the protesters arrived, anti-riot police stopped a man who got out of his car in front of the consular office and attempted to burn a Chinese flag marked with the message “Scarbourough is ours.”

The territorial row centers on Scarborough Shoal, a tiny rocky outcrop in the South China Sea about 230 kilometers from the Philippines’ main island of Luzon.

The Philippines says the shoal is part of its territory because it falls within its exclusive economic zone. — AFP