Tatlong maling pahayag ang ginawa ni Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte nang sinabi niya na China ang nagmamay-ari ng buong West Philippine Sea, at nakawala sa Pilipinas at napunta sa China ang buong Spratly Islands sa isang standoff noong nakaraang administrasyon.
President Rodrigo Duterte made three wrong claims when he said China is in possession of the entire West Philippine Sea, and that the Philippines lost the entire Spratly islands to China in a standoff during the previous administration.
Riding on an 85 percent approval rating, President Duterte probably thought he could convince Filipinos about the wisdom of his much-criticized policy towards China in the matter of the country’s territorial claim in the South China Sea. He devoted a lot of time on the issue of West Philippine Sea in his State of the Nation address Monday.
The United States will continue freedom of navigation patrols in the South China Sea despite protests by China, which enjoys close relations with the Duterte administration, the Philippines and the United States agreed Tuesday.
Watch how the Palace’s position on the issue evolved.
Labag sa 1987 Konstitusyon at sa hindi bababa sa dalawang lokal na batas ang sinabi ni Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte na "siyempre" papayagan ang mga mangingisda ng China na mangisda sa exclusive economic zone (EEZ) ng Pilipinas.
The law establishes the country’s baselines, which were used to map out its EEZ.
Duterte’s proposition directly violates the Philippine Charter, the Fisheries Code, and the archipelagic baselines law.
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte is correct when he questioned recently whether China can actually claim a huge swath of the ocean – by which he meant the Chinese Nine Dash Line Claim over practically the entire South China Sea (including portions we refer to as the West Philippine Sea).
The sinking last week of Filipino-owned wooden fishing boat F/B GimVer 1 by a bigger Chinese ship in Recto Bank presents an expanding dynamic to Chinese expansionist claims over recognized Philippine maritime zones .
