(Eagle News) — The Palace on Tuesday, Dec. 4, appeared to shoot down the idea of physically going to areas being claimed by China in the West Philippine Sea to check if there are indeed weather stations there.
Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in the first place “you may have some problems there; may even provoke something that we don’t want.”
“They claim that it’s theirs, but the arbitral ruling says it’s ours. Meanwhile, nobody seems to want to enforce it, that is precisely why we’re using the mechanism of diplomacy and negotiation,” he said, referring to the 2016 decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration that invalidated China’s excessive claims in the West Philippine Sea.
President Rodrigo Duterte has opted for a diplomatic approach to the dispute in the West Philippine Sea, setting aside for the meantime the decision.
Last month, the South China Post said China had set up weather stations on Subi Reef, Kagitingan Reef, and Panganiban Reef in the West Philippine Sea.
