Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Thursday maintained that the Philippines has sovereign rights over Ayungin Shoal after Beijing calls for the removal of the BRP Sierra Madre in the area.
In a message to reporters, Lorenzana said Ayungin Shoal lies within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone (EEZ), noting that it was awarded to the country 1982 UNCLOS in which China ratified.
"China should abide by its international obligations that it is part of," he said.
Lorenzana also mentioned that the Permanent Court of Arbitration, in its 2016 ruling on a case filed by the Philippines, said that China's territorial claim over the West China Sea has neither a historic nor a legal basis.
"We can do whatever we want there and it is they who are actually trespassing," Lorenzana emphasized.
"Meron tayong 2 dokumento na nagpapatunay na meron tayong sovereign rights sa ating EEZ habang sila ay wala at yung claim nila walang basehan," he added.
[We have two documents proving our sovereign rights in EEZ while China doesn't and their claim has no basis.]
Lorenzana made the statement after China demanded the removal of the BRP Sierra Madre in the Ayungin Shoal, which Beijing claimed again as its own.
"Ren'ai Jiao is part of China's Nansha Qundao. China demands that the Philippine side honor its commitment and remove its grounded vessel on Ren'ai Jiao," said China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian in a press briefing.
Ren'ai Jiao is the name that China uses to refer to the Ayungin Shoal. It claims that the area is part of its Nansha Qundao, or the highly disputed Spratly Islands.
In a supply mission last week, two Philippine vessels that were on a resupply mission to BRP Sierra Madre were "blocked and water cannoned" by the Chinese Coast Guard, drawing condemnation from the country.
