President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. said he would continue asserting the Philippines' territorial rights in the West Philippine Sea while abiding by international laws following the recent encounter between the Philippine and Chinese coast guards near Ayungin Shoal over the weekend.

Marcos said this after the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) reported that China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels fired water cannons at a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) ship escorting boats conducting a resupply mission on Sunday, Aug. 6.

In an interview with reporters in Bulacan, the President assured the public that the government would continue asserting the country's sovereignty while continuing talks with the Chinese government in the hopes of resolving the issue.

"We continue to assert our sovereignty. We continue to assert our territorial rights in the face of all of these challenges and consistent with international laws and UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea), especially. That has always been our stand," he said.

"But we still have to keep communicating with the Chinese government, with President Xi [Jinping], with Beijing. We still have to keep communicating with them because we need to really come to a conclusion," he added.

According to President Marcos, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo brought another note verbale to Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines, Huang Xilian, and showed him photos and videos of the incident.

"Titingnan natin kung ano 'yung kanilang magiging sagot (We're waiting for what they had to say about it)," he said.

Marcos added that he would hold a command conference about the incident on Aug. 7 to discuss how the Philippines should respond. He, however, refused to divulge details.

Meanwhile, the Chief Executive said he was relieved that no one got hurt.

"Buti na lang walang nasaktan, walang injury. Ngunit magkukulang ang resupply na dinala sa Sierra Madre ngayon kaya kailangan natin isipin what we will do next (Fortunately, no one got hurt, there was no injury. But our resupply to Sierra Madre was not enough so we we'll have to think what to do next)," Marcos said.

Source:
courtesy of MANILA BULLETIN

by ARGYLL CYRUS GEDUCOS

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