Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto (Source: globalnation.inquirer.net)Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs PerfectoYasay said the government continues gathering information to verify the reportby the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies aboutChina’s apparent militarisation in the disputed waters, including areas fallingwithin the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone under the 1982 United NationsConvention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
He said the Philippines is concerned about theinformation if it is true, adding that these actions will increase the tensionsthat already exist.
The diplomat did not elaborate what diplomaticinitiatives and legal processes under international law he is referring to.
Instead, he reiterated the Philippines’ decisionunder the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte to put the territorialdisputes with China aside in the absence of a “ready solution”, as well asreinvigorate the two countries’ economic and socio-cultural relations.
"We would like to make sure that while weare putting this issue of our dispute in the South China Sea on the backburner, we are not compromising or eroding our rights, as already declared bythe arbitral tribunal," Yasay said.
He added that when the Philippines has a readysolution in the future, it will use the PCA decision as the basis to push aheadwith the peaceful settlement of disputes./.
VNA
