Senators on Thursday, Nov. 25 slammed China for demanding that the country should remove BRP Sierra Madre, a Philippine ship, grounded since 1999 at Ayungin Shoal which is well within Philippine territorial waters.

’Trespassers have no right to issue an eviction order. Ayungin Shoal is part of the continental shelf that is 104 nautical miles from the archipelagic baseline of Palawan and thus within our country’s 200-nautical mile EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone) under UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea),’’ Senator Joel Villanueva said.

In 2016, the United Nations Arbitral Court rejected China’s ‘’historic’’ claim over most parts of the vast South China Sea (SCS).

Inside the SCS is the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

‘’Our ship has been there since 1999. To argue otherwise is to suffer from historical amnesia and geographical ignorance,’’ Villanueva said.

‘’Sierra Madre, the ship, is a fixture as immovable as Sierra Madre, the mountain range. Eventually, the sea will be BRP Sierra Madre’s final resting place. But no way should it be the graveyard of our sovereignty,’’ he added.

Senator Grace Poe, chairwoman of the Senate Public Services committee, emphasized that the 2016 arbitral ruling declared that Ayungin Shoal belongs to the Philippines and is well within our exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.

Poe said China has no right to dictate what we can do within our waters.

‘’Its recent statement telling us to remove BRP Sierra Madre from the shoal is another display of utter arrogance and aggression that we must not take sitting down,’’ she stressed.

‘’Aside from diplomatic protests, the government should step up efforts in rallying our neighbors to form a united front against China in the South China Sea. Time and again, several nations have stood by us and shared our goal of ensuring peace, stability and harmony,’’ she said.

‘’Mutual respect must always be the cornerstone of our relationship with any nation,’’ she added.