WPS is PH territory, solon reminds China
LEAVE the West Philippine Sea.
Deputy Speaker and Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez urged China to pull out all its military and civilian vessels from the WPS and to respect Philippine sovereignty over the area.
Rodriguez made the appeal in response to Beijing’s statement for the Philippines to stop exercises in the WPS by the Philippine Coast Guard and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and to respect Chinese sovereignty over the disputed sea.
“That statement is ridiculous. That area is part of our 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) under the United Nations Law of the Sea and the ruling of the UN arbitral court. We have every right to patrol it, conduct drills there and explore it for its fishery and other natural resources. But they are the ones taking tons and tons of fishes and destroying the environment there,” he said.
Rodriguez said it is China that should not be in the WPS “because that is not part of their EEZ.”
“They should leave the WPS. They are the interloper,” he stressed.
According to the solon, the WPS is about 600 miles from China.
“In contrast, up north, Scarborough Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc to Filipino fishermen, is just 120 miles off the coast of Zambales and Pangasinan. They are in control of it despite the fact that it is within our EEZ,” he added.
Down south, Julian Felipe Reef, which is 175 miles from Bataraza, Palawan, where they still maintain presence despite our repeated protests, “is also part of our EEZ.”
“So they are claiming and occupying a large part of the sea that should exclusively belong to us under international law, and illegally taking resources from it. They are the ones complicating the situation, not us,” the House leader added.
