Philippines Vows to Continue Maritime Exercises in South China Sea

The Philippines will proceed with sea practices inside its 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the South China Sea, the country’s guard serve said on Sunday, in spite of a call by China to stop activities that it said could raise questions.

The Philippine coastguard and fisheries agency began sea practices a month ago, having supported its essence nearby to counter the “undermining” presence of Chinese boats.

China asserts practically the whole South China Sea, through which about $3 trillion worth of boat borne exchange spends every year, notwithstanding a 2016 decision by an intervention council in The Hague that Beijing’s case was conflicting with worldwide law.

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“The direct of sea watch in the WPS (West Philippine Sea) and Kalayaan Island Group by the Philippine Coast Guard and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources will proceed,” Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said in a proclamation, utilizing the neighborhood name for the South China Sea.

“The public authority won’t falter in its position,” he said.

The waiting presence of many Chinese boats in the Philippines’ EEZ has resuscitated pressures between the nations, regardless of President Rodrigo Duterte’s companionship with Beijing.

Lorenzana said his remarks repeated the position of Duterte on the issue, refering to the last’s “extremely firm and direct” orders for the Philippine military to “guard what is legitimately our own without doing battle and keep up the harmony in the oceans”.

While Duterte actually considers China as “an old buddy”, the Philippine chief a week ago said: “There are things that are not actually dependent upon a trade off … I trust they will see however I have the interest of my nation likewise to ensure.”

Lorenzana said the Philippines “can be welcoming and agreeable with different countries however not to the detriment of our sway and sovereign rights”.