On the part of the Department of Foreign Affairs, our resolve to continue pursuing our mandate of protecting and upholding the country’s legal maritime entitlements remains firm. We are making full use of diplomatic processes and exercising all possible actions available to us. That includes summoning the Chinese Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM), which we did today.

 

Ayungin Shoal is part of our exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, and we have sovereign rights and jurisdiction over it. Therefore, as we did in the past, we intend to clearly convey our position that we have every right, under UNCLOS, to carry out legitimate activities in our maritime zones; and that we do not accept any form of interference.

 

China, as a major power, bears a heavier responsibility of contributing to peace and stability in the region.

 

Finally, I wish to take this opportunity to thank our partners in the international community for their steadfast support in the defense of the rules-based international order. Their statements of support show the level of concern that the international community has over persistent efforts to undermine UNCLOS. END