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Saipan group joins protest vs China ‘rescue center’
The Philippine government—and Filipinos—should once and for all send a strong message to China that the West Philippine Sea belongs to the Philippines and it should be respected, said Dr. Celia Lamkin speaking on behalf of the National Youth Movement for West Philippine Sea.
“We join all patriotic Filipinos in protesting the blatant disrespect of our sovereignty and the continued bullying by China despite the July 12, 2016, decision of the UN Arbitral Tribunal that the Philippines has territorial jurisdiction over the West Philippine Sea,” Lamkin added.
The NYMWPS, headed by Lamkin as its global chairperson and founder, joins Philippines Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio and Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana in calling for a protest amidst reports that China is opening a “maritime rescue center” to supposedly “offer better support to maritime rescue operations in the southern part of the South China Sea.”
“We call on the Duterte administration to stop kowtowing to China in the guise of maintaining a favorable diplomatic relations. It is about time that it sends a strong message to China that Panganiban Reef (Mischief Reef), Kagitingan Reef (Fiery Cross), and all those islands that they have built within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone belong to us. The obviously lame and lackadaisical stance of the government despite the massive reclamation and building of military structures in the area is sending a wrong message that the Philippines is consenting to China’s intrusion to our sovereign territory,” NYMWPS said. (PR)
