Kumbinsido ang Malacañang na wala ng magagawa ang China kundi dapat irespeto ang 2016 ruling ng Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) pabor sa claims ng Pilipinas sa South China Sea.
Ginawa ni Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo ang pahayag sa gitna ng agresibong aktibidad ng China sa mga pinagtatalunang teritoryo kung saan pinakahuli ang presensya ng Chinese vessels sa paligid ng Pag-asa Island na inaangking teritoryo ng Pilipinas.
Sinabi ni Sec. Panelo, malinaw ang ruling ng arbitral court alinsunod sa law on the seas at katanggap-tanggap sa international law.
Ayon kay Sec. Panelo, permanente at hindi na maaaring maalis pa sa Pilipinas ang nasabing hatol ng international court.
Pero aminado ang opisyal na hindi ito kinikilala ng China kaya naninindigan sa kanilang claims at sinasabing ng agresibong pagkilos sa South China Sea.
“Well, you know my view on that is that since they have been claiming that it’s theirs, necessarily they would do some acts that will be consistent with their position. But as we said earlier, as far as we are concerned there has been an arbitral ruling issued by a tribunal based on the law on the seas and accepted by international law. So we feel that we have a judgment, a judgment which has a stamp of permanence, it cannot be taken away from us. And therefore they should respect it, although they do not believe in it,” ani Sec. Panelo.
