WHAT remains of the 220 Chinese vessels deployed in the Philippines’ Julian Felipe Reef in the West Philippine Sea are definitely leaving soon, says presidential spokesperson Harry Roque.
Roque told reporters in a press briefing that President Rodrigo Duterte has already raised the concern to Chinese Ambassador to Manila Huang Xilian, whom the palace spokesperson claimed as having assured the Malacañang chief executive that the Chinese vessels only sought temporary refuge amid what the Chinese government claimed as increment weather.
“Wala pong kontrobersiya dahil hindi naman nila ipinaglalaban na mananatili sila roon. In the spirit of friendship, inaasahan na hindi sila mananatili roon,” Roque said.
Interestingly, Roque’s claim on bad weather as the reason behind the mooring of Chinese vessels off the West Philippine Sea seemed far from what the National Task Force for West Philippine Sea had earlier reported.
Roque said that the President has always stood firm on its position – to protect the Philippine territory and that would include the Julian Felipe Reef. He, however, insisted that the President would rather take the peaceful means.
“The President said this before the United Nations: We will protect our territory, we stand by the UN Arbitral Ruling, and we will resolve this by peaceful means under UNCLOS. Hindi nagbabago ang posisyon ni Presidente,” Roque added.
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS) in July 2016 ruled to invalidate China’s nine-dash line marking Beijing’s claim over the entire South China Sea.
The same UN court decision upheld the Philippines’ 200 nautical miles exclusive economic zone (EEZ), and that the Spratlys’ Panganiban (Mischief) Reef, Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal, and Recto (Reed) Bank are within the Philippines’ EEZ.