00:00The Department of Foreign Affairs, or DFA, has firmly reasserted the Philippines' sovereignty over Bajo de Masinloc, also known as
00:09Scarborough Shoal, citing two international treaties supporting our country's jurisdiction over the said territories.
00:17Gab Villegas tells us more.
00:21The Department of Foreign Affairs, or DFA, reasserted our sovereignty in Bajo de Masinloc while defending the effectiveness of the
00:28agreement with China regarding the country's conduct of resupply missions in the West Philippine Sea.
00:33In a statement, DFA spokesperson on Maritime Affairs Rogelio Villanueva Jr. said that the Philippines' jurisdiction is clear under the
00:40Treaty of Paris in 1898 and Treaty of Washington in 1900, as well as the continuous and peaceful administration of
00:48the territory until it was illegally occupied by China in 2012.
00:52The Philippines, through the DFA, has since continued to protest and challenge the illegal assertion of sovereignty by other states
01:01over the future, especially following China's unlocal actions in 2012, when they illegally took over and occupied Bajo de Masinloc
01:14as a response to the Philippines' local arrest of poachers in the area.
01:20The Department also reported the positive results of the provisional understanding between the Philippines and China signed in 2024.
01:28As a result, the Philippines has been successfully conducting rotation and resupply or raw remissions to BRP Sierra Madre in
01:34Ayungin Shoal without any complications.
01:37Nevertheless, the success of the provisional understanding and the safe rotation and reprovisioning of our personnel
01:45has been subjected to uninformed criticism, plot analysis, and a narrow understanding of both international law and of national objectives.
01:58The Department also responded to the criticisms against the said agreement and clarified some issues such as the Philippines not
02:05surrendering its sovereignty.
02:07At this point, Villaneva said that the agreement is intended to avoid tension and does not mean that the Philippines
02:13need to ask for permission from China to conduct raw remissions.
02:17The agreement also does not indicate that China is allowed to board or inspect Philippine vessels and part of the
02:23prerogative of the Philippine government for national security and safety of its personnel is to keep documents confidential.
02:30The Philippines will continue to implement the provisional understanding as agreed. We expect China to do the same.
02:39The DFA assured that they will continue to defend the nation's interests and use diplomacy as the primary tool to
02:45maintain peace in the region.
02:47Gabuilde Villegas from the National TV Network for New and Better Philippines.
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