Thread: Philippines vows not to surrender 'square inch' of territory in South China Sea

MANILA, Philippines: President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. remained firm on his stance that the Philippines will not yield even an inch of territory amid the longtime territorial dispute in the West Philippine Sea.


"As I have said before, and I will say again, the Philippines will not give up a single square inch of our territory to any foreign power. The law is clear as defined by UNCLOS and the final and binding 2016 Award on the South China Sea Arbitration," he said during the Daniel Inouye Speaker Series at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Honolulu, Hawaii last Sunday.

The President was on his last stop of his week-long official visit to the United States highlighted by his participation in the 30th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Economic Leaders' Meeting held in San Francisco, California.


Marcos said that while he appreciates the concrete manifestations of the United States and other allies supporting the Philippines' position, the country would continue to adhere to the lawful exercise of rights under international law.


"Supported by the rules-based international order and our growing partnerships, both time-tested and new ones, we will insist on the preservation of the sovereignty and integrity of the country, while working closely with international partners in the bilateral, regional, and multilateral settings in developing rules and processes to address these challenges," he said.


The Chief Executive met with Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss recent incidents in the contested waterway which resulted in tensions between Manila and Beijing.


Both leaders agreed that the present challenges in the WPS should not be the sum of the two countries' relationship and that both countries "will need to continue to communicate to find ways to avoid such incidents."


https://www.msn.com/en-ph/news/natio...ry/ar-AA1kcZUb

Poor old chinkies, all that filthy lucre they threw at Duterte down the drain.