The ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ญ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐จ๐ ๐ ๐จ๐ซ๐๐ข๐ ๐ง ๐๐๐๐๐ข๐ซ๐ฌ (๐๐ ๐) issued a strong statement on Monday, March 16, 2026 condemning Chinaโs handling of the ๐๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ specifically the ๐๐๐ฃ๐จ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐ฅ๐จ๐ and ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ง ๐๐ฌ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ฉ.
The DFA stressed that claims must follow international law, ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐ฎ๐ง๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ญ๐๐ซ๐๐ฅ announcements or social media posts. Chinaโs avoidance of legal scrutiny is described by the DFA as โ๐ ๐ญ๐๐๐ข๐ญ ๐๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ญ๐ฌ ๐๐ฅ๐๐ข๐ฆ๐ฌ ๐๐๐ง๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ฑ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง,โ noting that a country confident in its position would submit to international adjudication. The DFA also denoted that the Philippines sovereignty is non-negotiatable and it’s resolve is ๐๐๐ฌ๐จ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ reaffirming the stateโs firm stance in defending its maritime rights in the ๐๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐.
