The Daily Tribune
AFP: Phl not expansionist, doesn't interfere in other nations' affairs
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) refuted claims by China's Southern Theater Command that the Philippines' joint maritime drills with the US and Canada in the West Philippine Sea constituted infringement on China's rights and undermined regional peace.
AFP spokesperson Colonel Francel Padilla stated that the Philippines is not expansionist and is merely defending its own territory within international law.
Padilla specifically referenced the 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling, which invalidated China's expansive claims and affirmed the Philippines' exclusive economic zone.
China's Southern Theater Command spokesperson Tian Junli had accused the Philippines of attempting to conceal alleged illegal infringements on China's maritime rights through military provocations and media attention.
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