[This handout photo taken on March 2, 2022, and released by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on March 27, shows a Philippine coast guard personnel (R) monitoring a Chinese coast guard ship shadowing their vessel while conducting a maritime patrol in Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal in the West Philippine Sea. (Photo from Handout / Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) / AFP)]

MANILA: The Philippine government on Tuesday reiterated that it has sovereignty over Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc after China insisted it is part of its inherent territory. "The Philippine position is we continue to exercise full sovereignty over Bajo de Masinloc and its territorial sea, as well as sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the surrounding EEZ and continental shelf," acting presidential spokesperson Martin Andanar said in a statement, PhilStar reported.

Andanar's remarks came after Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin claimed that Beijing has sovereignty over Panatag Shoal, which the Chinese call Huangyan Dao. Rejecting a UNCLOS-backed court's arbitral ruling that Panatag Shoal is a traditional fishing ground open to all, Wang further insisted that Beijing also has sovereignty over its adjacent waters. The tribunal also concluded that China failed to respect the traditional fishing rights of Filipino fishermen by blocking access to the shoal off the coast of Zambales.

"We hope that the Philippine ships will earnestly respect China’s sovereignty and rights and interests, abide by China’s domestic law and international law, and avoid interfering with the patrol and law enforcement of the China Coast Guard in the above-mentioned waters," Wang said in a press briefing Monday.