DND chief Lorenzana: Current situation in West Philippine Sea ‘quiet, stable’

West Philippine Sea

MANILA, Philippines — The situation in the West Philippine Sea is currently “stable,” Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said Thursday.

“Ang sitwasyon po doon ngayon ay tahimik naman, stable. Wala namang nangyayaring kaguluhan diyan except mung binomba ng water cannon ‘yung  isang supply ship natin,” he said in a Laging Handa public briefing.

(The situation there is quiet, stable. There is no chaos there except for the incident when our supply ship was attacked by a water cannon.)

“Pero pinag-usapan na namin ng ambassador ng China at nag-apologize naman siya, hindi naman niya sinasadya ‘yun,” he added.

(But, the Chinese ambassador and I talked about it already and he apologized, that is not intentional.)

In November 2021, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said the China Coast Guard “blocked and water cannoned” a Philippine supply ship at the Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea.

Lorenzana further said the Philippines did not lose any territory under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte.

“Gusto ko lang sabihin sa mga mamamayan na mula ng pumasok si presidente, wala namang nakuhang bagong teritoryo ‘yung China,” he said.

(I want to tell the citizens that since the president entered, no new territory has been obtained by China.)

READ: Lorenzana: Philippines did not lose Sandy Cay 

Earlier, Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio claimed that the Philippines lost Sandy Cay, one of the three sandbars near Pag-asa Island, to China, which Lorenzana has denied.

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