MANILA: Cagayan de Oro City 2nd District Rep. Rufus Rodriguez on Tuesday said China should accept President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s declaration in his 3rd State of the Nation Address (SONA) that the Philippines will neither yield nor waver in asserting its rights over the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
‘China should accept and respect the President’s unequivocal statement: that the West Philippine Sea is ours and will remain ours,’ Rodriguez said in a statement.
Rodriguez, a consistent and staunch critic of Beijing’s intrusion and aggressive activities in waters and islands inside the Philippines’ 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ), including the WPS, lauded PBBM’s precise statement, asserting the country’s rights and interests over the WPS.
‘We are entitled to our EEZ under international law. The President is asserting our rights over areas that are legally ours. We are claiming what the law entitles us, no more no less. China can claim what rightfully belongs to it, and we will respect that,’
Rodriguez said.
He emphasized, however, that the problem is ‘Beijing’s act of overextending its territorial claim to include waters, islands, and resources that are very, very far from its own EEZ.’
‘Ayungin Shoal off Palawan in the south is thousands of kilometers from China. Scarborough Shoal, or Bajo de Masinloc to Filipino fishermen, is near Zambales and Pangasinan in the north, and it is hundreds of kilometers from China,’ he said.
‘How can Beijing legally justify its claim over these shoals and waters that are inside the EEZ of our country? It’s time for Beijing to listen to the President and respect what he says in the interest of peace, stability and harmony,’ he added.
Clear position
Meanwhile, the National Security Council (NSC) said the President’s pronouncements outlined the country’s clear position on the WPS issue.
“We fully support the President’s statement. And I think the President simply wanted to make clear in his SONA his administration’s unwavering position in the WPS,” National Sec
urity Adviser Eduardo Año said in a statement.
He added that “no amount of Chinese aggression or coercion” will change the Marcos administration’s stance.
Echoing the Chief Executive, Año said the WPS belongs to Filipinos and is part of the country’s patrimony that must be preserved for present and future generations.
“Our ongoing efforts will carry on: The country will actively exercise its rights, and will increasingly make use of its maritime entitlements despite protests and intimidation. Moreover, we will rise above the fear instigated by military and economic might, real or imagined,” Año stressed.
He also said the government will continue to engage, build partnerships and seek wider international support for what rightfully belongs to the Philippines.
“We are committed to address and manage difficult issues through dialogue and through diplomacy. As a peaceful nation, our doors are always open to open and frank discussions based on mutual respect and sincerity. If you call, we will answer,” he add
ed.
He added that the Philippines will continue to rally its partners and allies to make a united stance against those who are seek to undermine the arbitral ruling on the South China Sea and to stress the vital role of international law in maintaining peace and stability.
Source: Philippines News Agency