Palace welcomes U.S. envoy’s support for PHL in WPS dispute

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MANILA — Malacanang on Saturday welcomed continuous support from U.S. ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg amid the rising tensions due to ongoing sea dispute with China.

Two days after China released a map indicating its territories in the West Philippine (South China) Sea, Goldberg reacted saying that China’s use of the 10-dash-line to claim maritime rights is “inconstant with international law.”

He further stressed that the only resolution to prove a country’s claims is through tribunals, code of conduct and the like.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunyang, however, said that China was only publishing maps with the purpose of serving the public.

“We certainly welcome the statement of the U.S. embassy,” presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said in an interview over state-run dzRB radio.

Lacierda said Malacanang will also continue to support the position taken by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

“Our emphasis is the rule of law,” he said, referring to United Nations Convention on the Law of Sea (UNCLOS).

It can be recalled that the Philippines has previously pursued arbitration before an International Tribunal for the Law of Sea.

“(Although) the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that (the maps) are only for their own audience, this involves entitlement which is not exclusively theirs,” he added.