Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 10) — China’s continued harassment of Filipino vessels has “further steeled” the country’s determination to protect its sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea where only the Philippines has the legal basis to operate, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared on Sunday night.
This comes after Chinese ships blasted the Philippine’s vessels with water and sound cannons, and conducted dangerous maneuvers putting Filipino lives at risk on several occasions this weekend.
READ: PH vessel suffers ‘serious engine damage’ in new water cannon incident in WPS
Marcos reiterated that the Ayungin Shoal, also named Second Thomas Shoal but called by China as Ren’ai Jiao, is within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and that any foreign claim over it is baseless and contrary to international law.
\”No one but the Philippines has a legitimate right or legal basis to operate anywhere in the West Philippine Sea,\” the president said in a statement.
\”The illegal presence in our waters and dangerous actions against our citizens is an outright and blatant violation of international law and the rules-based international order.\”
He added that he directed the country’s uniformed services to conduct its missions in the contested waters with \”the utmost regard for the safety of our personnel, yet proceed with a mission-oriented mindset.\”
In 2016, an arbitral tribunal constituted under the United Nations’ Convention of the Law of the Sea nullified Beijing’s sweeping claims over the South China Sea, which overlapped with the portion Manila calls the West Philippine Sea.
