Tolentino: China’s seizure of Sandy Cay an outrageous assault on PH sovereignty
SENATE Majority Leader Francis Tolentino on Sunday, April 27 condemned China’s declaration of “sovereign jurisdiction” over Sandy Cay in the West Philippine Sea saying it is an outrageous assault on the country’s sovereignty.
“The illegal seizure of Sandy Cay by the China Coast Guard is an outrageous assault on Philippine sovereignty. Sandy Cay lies within our territorial waters – indisputably ours under international law,” Tolentino said in a statement.
“This brazen intrusion must be met by the strongest diplomatic and defensive measures,” the reelectionist senator further said.
Tolentino, who chairs the Senate Special Committee on Admiralty and Maritime Zones, urged Philippine authorities to protest China’s latest aggression in the West Philippine Sea.
“We must not allow foreign forces to trample upon our rights and dignity. The West Philippine Sea belongs to the Filipino people and no intimidation and act of aggression can ever change that,” the senator stressed.
“We call on all Filipinos to stand firm and defend what is ours, resolutely, lawfully and without fear,” he further appealed.
The Philippine government calls Sandy Cay, also as Pag-asa Cay 2, while China calls it Tiexian Jiao. It is part of the disputed low bank or reef of coral, rock and sand located in the Spratly Islands near Pag-asa Island in the WPS.
A report by the Chinese’s Global Times said the Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) personnel displayed a Chinese flag on Sandy Cay and enforced maritime management.
