The Philippines’ stance in the West Philippine Sea is a 𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭, 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐦𝐥𝐲 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐚𝐰, 𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 2016 𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. This legal foundation ensures that the country’s maritime interests are protected and underscores that the Philippines’ claims are not mere assertions but rights recognized under law.
Commodore Jay Tarriela emphasized this point in an interview with DXDD Radio Station, stating: “𝑶𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑾𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝑷𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒑𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝑺𝒆𝒂 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒂𝒏 𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒎. 𝑰𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒍𝒂𝒘, 𝒓𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 2016 𝒂𝒓𝒃𝒊𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒅𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒍𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒔𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒎 — 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒍𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑾𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝑷𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒑𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝑺𝒆𝒂. 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒑𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒔. 𝑳𝒆𝒕 𝒖𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒃𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒅.”
He further called on the public to remain discerning and steadfast in understanding the country’s legal position, stressing that upholding these rights strengthens national sovereignty and ensures the security of Philippine waters.
