MANILA, Philippines — China "strongly condemns and opposes" the two new laws which define the maritime zones and sea lanes of the Philippines and has summoned Philippine Ambassador Jaime Florcruz to lodge formal protests.

"Let me emphasize that the so-called 'Philippine Maritime Zones Act' illegally includes China's Huangyan Dao (Scarborough Shoal, also known as Panacot or Bajo de Masinloc), as well as most of the islands and reefs of China's Nansha Qundao (Spratly Islands), along with their associated waters, within the Philippines' maritime zones," Mao Ning, spokesman for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said during a press conference on Friday, the same day that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed the "Maritime Zones Act" and the "Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act."

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