National Security Advisor Clarita R. Carlos has visited Palawan and the Kalayaan Group of Islands amid the continuous tension over territorial dispute in the West Philippine Sea.
after meeting with Wescom officials at the Antonio Bautista Air Base , Carlos then went to Pag-asa Island via a military aircraft and spoke with local residents, military personnel, and representatives of the local government unit of Kalayaan.
"Her visit bespeaks of our common aspiration, strong stand, and unwavering dedication to protect the people and the state under our responsibility," Vice Admiral Alberto B. Carlos said in a statement.
"In collaboration with our peace partners, we have done our best in ensuring that the NSA's official visit in WESCOM's Area of Responsibility is worthwhile and that there will be no stones unturned as to all security matters of utmost significance. Hence, WESCOM's commitment to national security and interests is and shall always be the order of the day," he added.
Carlos not only acts as a National Security Advisor but also as the West Philippine Sea National Task Force's concurrent chairperson.
In July, Carlos characterized a statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry dismissing the arbitration decision from 2016 that rejected China's expansive claims to nearly the entire South China Sea as "nothing new."
China's nine-dash line claims in the South China Sea were rejected by an arbitral tribunal at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in July 2016 in a case brought by the Philippines in 2013 based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.