Palace: China's military presence in SCS does not grant ownership

Malacañang asserted that China's military presence in Philippine-claimed features in the South China Sea does not grant them ownership.

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque emphasized the 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling, which invalidated China's expansive claims within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone.

He stated that China's physical military occupation of islands within the Philippine exclusive economic zone will never result in a valid legal title.

President Rodrigo Duterte invoked the arbitral ruling for the first time before the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) last Wednesday, reasserting that the arbitral victory cannot be erased or ignored.

Roque, however, recognized the presence of Chinese Coast Guards near the EEZ as part of freedom of navigation, as all ships have freedom of navigation within the EEZ.

The Philippines lost control of Mischief Reef in 1995 and Scarborough Shoal in 2012 to China.