PH not giving up on West Philippine

Sea
(https://globalnation.inquirer.net/179721/palace-ph-not-giving-up-on-west-philippine-sea
https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/22/19/duterte-vows-to-fight-for-west-ph-sea-rights-in-due-time
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1076693)
• The Chief Executive won’t be giving up
on asserting the country’s claims in
the contested territory and the
Philippines is not surrendering on the
issue, stressing that the country’s
claim is “final, binding and
unappealable.”

• President Rodrigo Duterte also

promised Filipinos that the
government would stand up for the
Philippines’ rights in the West
Philippine Sea in “due time,” as his
dealings with Beijing came under
close scrutiny in light of rising
maritime tensions.
• The West Philippine Sea is
the country's exclusive
economic zone in the South
China Sea, which China
claims in near entirety.
China has continued island-
building and militarization
efforts in the area. 
Duterte said he prefers to
handle Manila’s maritime
dispute with Beijing in a
“peaceful way,” insisting a
“delicate balancing act.” and
he said he would assert
Manila’s rights in the West
Philippine Sea once its’ oil
exploration with China
begins.
The United Nations Convention on the
Law of the Sea, ratified in 1982 by
many countries including the
Philippines and China, is the legal basis
of the country’s claim of sovereign
rights over its exclusive economic
zone.
This was further affirmed by the
Permanent Court of Arbitration award
to the Philippines in 2016, which
invalidated China’s so-called historical
claim delineated by its Nine-Dash Line.
• "Thus, the Philippines has two documents to support its
claims versus none for the Chinese. Thus, the Chinese
presence in the WPS is akin to somebody squatting on a
piece of land owned by someone else," he added.
• The Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed that Manila
fired off a note verbale against a reported swarming of
Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea.
• This came after reports said National Security Adviser
Hermogenes Esperon Jr. revealed that at least 113 Chinese
vessels have swarmed around the Philippine-occupied Pag-
asa Island over the weekend. 
Nearly 90 percent of
Filipinos believe the
government should assert
its claims in the South
China Sea and arrest
Chinese fishermen
destroying marine life in
the area, according to a
June 22 to 26 Social
Weather Stations poll.