MANILA, Philippines — Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. on Wednesday rejected China’s call for a stop to Philippine maritime exercises within the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
“They are the intruders,” the defense chief told reporters. “They have no authority or legal basis to prevent us from conducting these exercises within the WPS. That’s ours,”
He pointed out that the Philippine claim was supported by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos) and the 2016 arbitral award.
Lorenzana said Unclos “gave us sovereign rights to exploit the natural resources” in waters within …
Keep on reading: Lorenzana on Chinese call to stop PH sea drills: ‘They are the intruders’