TULOY ang routine maritime activities ng Pilipinas sa bisnidad ng Escoda Shoal kahit na binangga ng Chinese Coast Guard ang barko ng Philippine Coast Guard sa Escoda Shoal.

Sinabi ni National Maritime Council (NMC) spokesperson Vice Admiral Alexander Lopez na patuloy na igigiit ng Pilipinas ang karapatan at hurisdiksyon nito sa West Philippine Sea (WPS).

“The Philippines expresses serious concern over the deliberate harassment and infringement by China against Philippines’ sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction in the West Philippine Sea.

The government remains committed to the President’s directive for a diplomatic approach in a peaceful resolution of disputes,” pahayag ni Lopez.

Sinabi pa ni Lopez na unprofessional, dangerous at paglabag sa international law, kabilang na ang United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) at 1972 Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGs) ang ginagawa ng China Coast Guard.

Hindi nakatutulong ang aksyon ng China para sa confidence-building measures sa WPS, ayon sa opisyal.

“We would like to express the position of our government with regard to that particular incident; and lastly, it is also a basis for further actions of our government with regard to that incident,” pahayag ni Lopez.