NSC assails China's plan in Bajo de Masinloc

The National Security Council (NSC) firmly opposed the newly announced plan of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to establish a national nature reserve at Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough or Panatag Shoal) in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

- By MARTIN SADONGDONG

National Security Adviser (NSA) Eduardo Año said the “Huangyan Island National Nature Reserve” is “patently illegal” as it runs counter to international law by disregarding the Philippines’ sovereign rights under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Bajo de Masinloc, called by the PRC as Huangyan Island, is located well within the 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of Manila.