Senators Grace Poe and Imee Marcos on Monday, April 5, urged the Philippine government to defend the country's sovereign rights over the West Philippines Sea (WPS) amid China's continued incursions.
"The West Philippine Sea is ours. It is incumbent upon the government to defend and preserve every inch of the territory of the Filipino people," Poe said in a statement.
"Our government must come on strong and true to defend and protect our EEZ. It is its sworn duty to stand up against all acts that are inimical to the highest interest of our country and people," she appealed.
Poe said the government should specifically protect Filipino fishermen, who are among those harassed and prevented by Chinese personnel sailing in the Philippines' exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
"We must protect our fishermen’s right to livelihood in our seas. Clearly, they are among our most vulnerable population who brave the perils of the ocean just to put food on every Filipino’s table. They sail for days in order to reach fishing sanctuaries and remain there for weeks, hopeful to make a few hundreds of pesos when they sail home," she said.
"We must not allow our sovereignty to be trampled on and mocked," she pointed out.
Marcos also told reporters that she, too, is losing patience over the continued presence of Chinese vessels in the WPS despite repeated demands for them to leave the area.
"Nakakapikon naman talaga kasi atin 'yon (It's really infuriating because the territory is ours)," she said in an online interview.
Besides its alliance with the United States and other countries, Marcos said the Philippines should also forge alliances with countries in Southeast Asia, especially those which also have claims in the South China Sea, to stand up against China's aggression.
Like the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei also have claims in the South China.
Indonesia, while not part of the sea dispute, had also rejected China's "nine-dash-line" claim, since this also overlaps with its own EEZ.
In 2016, the United Nations' Permanent Court of Arbitration scrapped China's sweeping claim over the South China Sea.
"Let's push the multilateral action with the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations)," Marcos told the Philippine government.
Earlier in March, over 200 Chinese vessels were spotted at the Julian Felipe Reef, which is part of the Philippines' EEZ. Authorities later discovered that the vessels, which they believed were manned by Chinese militia, did not leave and were only dispersed in various areas of the WPS.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana has refused to believe China's insistence that the vessels were taking shelter near the reef due to rough sea conditions.
"Umalis na kayo dyan (Get out of there)," Lorenzana said in a strongly-worded statement last Saturday, April 3.