The Manila Times
MANILA, Philippines — The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Friday expressed support for the administration’s move to give Filipino names to 131 geographical features in the Kalayaan Island Group (WPS) within the West Philippine Sea (WPS). Under Executive Order (EO) No. 111, Marcos ordered the adoption of the standard set of Philippine names for the 131 features of the KIG, which is part of the Kalayaan municipality in Palawan province. “The President's directive to rename the 131 features in the West Philippine Sea is a very vital assertion of our rights under UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Seas) and the 2016 Arbitral Tribunal ruling,” Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, AFP spokesman for the WPS said on the sidelines of the Maritime Security Symposium at Camp Aguinaldo. “This will allow us consistency in our communications, in our charts, charts and in our education system. The AFP is prepared to protect and to continue our patrols to ensure maritime security and our sovereignty and sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea are protected,” Trinidad said. EO 111 covers islets, sandbars, atolls, reefs, shoals, and sand cays of the KIG and its surrounding waters. The movie however received condemnation from China who said it was illegal under international law. It also warned that it would do “what is necessary to firmly defend its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea.”
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