Manila: Hundreds of protesters gathered at the Chinese Consulate in Manila on Tuesday, demanding the removal of Chinese presence in the disputed islands in the South China Sea.
Various activist groups joined in the demonstration, from Filipino cyclists to youth groups, holding up anti-China placards and banners while waving the Philippine flag.
They also criticized Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's government for not standing against China.
Neri Colmenares, the protest leader and a senatorial candidate running against Duterte's senatorial bets, said Filipinos have the courage "to assert our territorial integrity."
Duterte has adopted a non-confrontational approach in territorial spats with Beijing while seeking Chinese infrastructure funds, trade and investment.
He has often had to walk a tightrope when discussing China's increasingly assertive actions in the disputed waters, where Manila and Beijing, along with four other governments, have wrangled for control of territory.
The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs last week issued a rare public rebuke of large numbers of Chinese vessels near islands and islets occupied by the Philippines in the disputed waters, saying the Chinese presence was illegal.
Also Read: Voting for Israel general election begins
The Philippine military has monitored more than 200 Chinese vessels from January to March in a disputed area named Sandy Cay near a Philippine-occupied island called Pag-asa by Filipinos.
The protest was also held to commemorate the Philippine holiday 'Araw ng Kagitingan' (Day of Valor), which remembers the heroic efforts of Filipino troops during World War II.
