MANILA, Philippines — The West Philippine Sea is “ours” and China “took it,” Foreign Affairs Teodoro Locsin Jr. said on Wednesday. Period,” Locsin tweeted in response to a Twitter user who asked for the Department of Foreign Affairs’ (DFA) stand amid the alleged invasion of China in the West Philippine Sea. ADVERTISEMENTLocsin was referring to the 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) which favored the Philippines after it filed a case challenging China’s sweeping claims of nearly the entire South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea. READ: PH wins arbitration case over South China SeaThe country’s top diplomat further said that it was now a matter of figuring out “how to take it back.”“Now the question is how to take it back. ADVERTISEMENTREAD: US vows PH defense vs attack in South China SeaPresident Rodrigo Duterte has also warned China not to touch Pag-asa (Thitu) Island, which is the main island feature in the Philippine-occupied Kalayaan Island Group.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer April 10, 2019 01:05 UTC