DESPITE the boiling issue of the West Philippine Sea, the United States remains committed to the Philippines and will “work with our allies.”

“We will continue to work with our allies, partners in the region who are like-minded and who value a free and open Indo-Pacific. That’s really important,” Defense Secretary Llyod Austin told reporters during a joint press conference with Defense Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. after their bilateral meeting.

According to the US Defense official, there is of great importance in maintaining rules-based international order.

Austin said that this will ensure that countries can sail the seas and operate in international waters and operate in international skies.

It has been previously reported that the Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) had recently drove off Filipino fisherfolk from the Ayungin Shoal.

The Ayungin shoal is being considered as part of the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs, has issued a statement to China that Filipino fishermen can fish in the area and “take whatever they are due” under Philippine and international laws as it is part of the EEZ.

“Ayungin Shoal is part of the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf of the Philippines. The Philippines is entitled to exercise sovereign rights and jurisdiction in the area without any intervention from another country,” the DFA said.

It will be recalled that in 2013, the Philippines filed a case before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands over China’s legal basis for its vast claim in the South China Sea. Manila won the case in 2016 after the tribunal invalidated Beijing’s assertions, but Beijing has then ignored the ruling and does not recognize it.

China insisted that they have an “indisputable” and “historical” claim over nearly the entire waters, that overlaps claims by other countries as well not just the Philippines.

Currentph News Service