PH Fires Back at China: 'Scarborough Shoal Is Ours — Stop the Social Media Drama'
The Philippines just clapped back hard at Beijing after China's embassy in Manila posted on social media claiming that a former Filipino diplomat once admitted Scarborough Shoal wasn't Philippine territory. Foreign affairs spokesperson Rogelio Villanueva didn't mince words, saying China needs to settle claims through "established international legal procedures" — not through Facebook posts.
The shoal, located just 200 kilometers off the Philippine coast and well within the country's exclusive economic zone, has been a major flashpoint between the two countries for years. Villanueva declared the Philippines has "indivisible, incontrovertible and longstanding sovereignty" over the strategic atoll, which is prized for its rich fishing grounds and sheltered lagoon.
China's embassy quickly pushed back, with spokesperson Ji Lingpeng saying Beijing has "never laid claim" to the entire South China Sea as territory and calling the Philippine statement a "deliberate distortion." But the exchange is just the latest round in an escalating verbal sparring match between Manila and Beijing's envoys.
The Philippines won a landmark ruling at the Permanent Court of Arbitration back in 2016, which found that China's sweeping claims in the South China Sea had no basis under international law. Beijing has refused to recognize that ruling ever since, continuing to deploy coast guard vessels around Scarborough Shoal.
"Sovereignty is not merely claimed, it is exercised," Villanueva said — a pointed reminder that talk is cheap, especially when it comes from a social media post.
Source: Reuters
