(Eagle News)—Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. on Saturday, Feb. 2, said the Philippines should “protest” China’s construction of a maritime center on Kagitingan Reef if reports on this were true.
“Not contest protest. Not even the US will contest it,” he said.
Locsin shared Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio’s position, which runs counter to Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo’s position.
Panelo had said the Philippines should ne thankful to China if reports of the construction were true.
He said a maritime center on the reef after all could benefit everyone, including seamen.
In subsequent Tweets, Locsin, however, said that a task force was still verifying the information provided by state-owned Chinese media Xinhua in the first place.