TWO hundred twenty militia ships moored at the West Philippine Sea seemed more than enough for President Rodrigo Duterte to talk to the Chinese ambassador about China’s latest incursion in a territory that falls well within the country’s 375-kilometer exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
In a statement, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said that he has personally been told by no less than the President on the latter’s plan on setting a date with Chinese ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian even after the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) filed a diplomatic protest over what was earlier referred to as incursion in an area that falls well within the prescribed EEZ radius.
“I will repeat what the President said yesterday. He will talk with the Chinese ambassador about this issue. And he said there is nothing that cannot be discussed among friends,” Roque said.
The Palace spokesperson, however, would not say when and where – or how the talks would be done.
China, which claims the entire West Philippine Sea, has refused to recognize the international arbitral tribunal’s ruling that invalidated China’s sweeping claims over the South China Sea, including the Philippines’ 375-kilometer EEZ.
Earlier, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana urged the Chinese government to stop the incursion and immediately recall the vessels, saying it was “a clear provocative action of militarizing the area.”
There were still 183 vessels believed to belong to China’s maritime militia as of Monday at the reef, which is located about 324 km west of Bataraza—the town at the southern tip of Palawan province.