Several European countries, including Estonia, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania and Romania, joined the United States, the Philippines and others in issuing a so-called joint statement marking the 10th anniversary of the so-called "South China Sea Arbitration Award." The EU also released a related statement. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Tuesday that the head of the Department of European Affairs of China’s Foreign Ministry has lodged strong protests respectively with the heads of the diplomatic missions of the countries concerned and the EU delegation to China.