MANILA - President Rodrigo Duterte has approved a proposal to stamp Philippine visas on passports of Chinese visitors bearing the map of Beijing’s contested maritime claims in the South China Sea.

Duterte approved the Department of Foreign Affairs’ proposal during a Cabinet meeting Monday, reversing a policy put in place by his predecessor former president Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III in 2012.

The Philippine visa will be a logo of the country’s map, including parts that are being claimed by China, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo told reporters Tuesday.

It is among government's moves pushing back against China's excessive claims in the South China Sea, where the Chinese have encroached into the country's exclusive economic zone, the West Philippine Sea.

The Philippines recently filed a diplomatic protest over Chinese ship sails into the disputed waters. Duterte also vowed to invoke the Philippines' July 2016 arbitral victory against China before a United Nations-backed tribunal, which invalidated China's 9-dash line claim.

“Ang magandang nakita ko doon mayroong mapa ng Pilipinas na ilalagay eh kung saan andoon lahat ng ating mga teritoryo pati 'yung mga pinag-aawayan,” Panelo said.

(The good thing that I saw there is that the map of the Philippines will be used including all of our territories, even the disputed ones.)

It is, however, still unknown when the new policy will be implemented. Guidelines will be issued by Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. “soon,” Panelo said.

Locsin had also recently proposed for government to end the issuance of visas upon arrival to Chinese visitors here. This was after National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon called the influx of Chinese nationals a "security risk."

At present, Philippine visas are stamped on a separate application form of Chinese nationals entering the country as a form of protest to Beijing’s 9-dash line claim, a map of which is printed on their passports.

The said policy began in 2012 under former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, a known critic of China.

The Department of Justice (DOJ), meanwhile, “will be closely monitoring the stay of Chinese tourists in the country and will implement immigration measures should they exceed their allowable stay here.”

Duterte's approval of the DFA proposal comes as his dealings with Beijing are placed under scrutiny in light of rising maritime tensions.

Beijing claims nearly all of the resource-rich South China Sea and refuses to recognize the arbitral ruling.