DISPUTING the statement of Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said no Philippine territory has been seized, more so invaded, by China, which is now considered “ally” of the country.
In an ambush interview at the House of Representatives, Cayetano said the Duterte administration remains consistent in upholding the territorial and sovereign rights of the Philippines.
“We are on top of it, we are coordinating with the relevant agencies…It’s been resolved,” Cayetano said.
In reaction to Magdalo Partylist Representative Gary Alejano’s exposé that Chinese vessels are massing up in Pagasa Island (Thitu Islad), Carpio came out with a statement saying “Sandy Cay is a Philippine land territory that is being seized (to put it mildly) or being invaded (to put it frankly) by China.
Carpio was one of the pillars of the Philippine delegation that sued China before a United Nations-backed tribunal over its illegal construction in the disputed South China Sea.
But according to Cayetano, no invasion of any Philippine territory ever took place.
“So one of them was saying may invasion of the sand bar sa Pag asa. What does an invasion mean? It means inaagaw ng ibang country. That’s not true. The NSA (National Security Adviser), Secretary (Hermogenes) Esperon, has come out to deny that,” Cayetano said.
President Rodrigo Duterte has already echoed the position of DFA, and said he got assurance from China that “they are not building anything.” (SunStar Philippines)