Senator welcomes PH joint naval drills with allies

Sen. Risa Hontiveros on Monday lauded the joint maritime drills the Philippines conducted with four allied countries in the West Philippine Sea over the weekend, saying the activity was a show of “commitment” of the international community to ensure a peaceful resolution of the maritime row in the South China Sea.

“The joint patrols are a clear display of our resistance to China’s bullying,” Hontiveros said in a statement. “It has always been clear that it is China, which is provoking tensions in the West Philippine Sea—not us—so it is China, which must stop her aggression,” she said. Hontiveros issued the statement after the Philippines held joint maritime patrols with Australia, Japan, New Zealand and the United States within its 370-kilometer exclusive economic zone on Saturday.

According to her, the conduct of joint exercises demonstrated the “commitment of the international community to uphold the rules-based order in the entire South China Sea.” Hontiveros added that conducting multination security patrols would “help put China in her place.” —MARLON RAMOS