No one can tell the Philippines that its maritime domain and sovereign rights do not belong to the country, President Marcos said.
During his visit at the Camp General Artemio Ricarte in Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Marcos said the country will continue exerting all efforts to defend its territory and allow the citizens to exercise their sovereign rights within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
"Hindi magbabago ang ating pananaw dito sa sitwasyon na ito (Our stand on this situation will never change)," Marcos said following the recent violent resupply mission in Ayungin Shoal.
"Hindi tayo maaring pilitin na basta pabayaan na lang na kung sino-sino ang magsasabi --- hindi na sa inyo ‘yan, amin ito. Hindi na puwedeng mangyari yun (No one can ever force us to just allow anybody to tell us that this is not ours, this is ours. That should not happen)," Marcos added.
The President stressed that since assuming the presidency, he made it very clear that his administration will do everything to defend the country's territory.
He also pointed out that the Philippines has "strong" international grounds for its claims, citing the 2016 arbitral ruling in favor of the country.
"Matibay ang pinagtatayuan natin dahil ang batas (We have a strong ground because) the international law is with us. We are on very solid international legal grounds on this. Dahil kinikilala ng buong mundo ang ating teritoryo at ang ating EEZ --- ang ating economic zone (Because the whole world recognizes our territory and our EEZ) where we as Filipino citizens can exercise our sovereign rights," Marcos stressed.
The Commander-in-Chief also recognized the valuable service of the troops who exercised restraint amid Chinese provocations during a dangerous resupply mission for Philippine soldiers stationed at the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal.
He said the Armed Forces of the Philippines-Western Command (AFP- WESCOM) in Palawan plays an important role in defending the country’s sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea.
“You have played a very, very important part in the defense of our sovereignty," he told them.