Geline Salac

'Walang jurisdiction ang China dito': Risa reasserts Philippines' claim to Pag-Asa island

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Reuters Wires

As the Philippine Coast Guard plane descended toward the country&#x27;s most strategically important outpost in the disputed South China Sea, the passengers&#x27; phones lit up with a roaming alert: &quot;Welcome to CHINA.&quot;Among those on board were Senator Risa Hontiveros and Coast Guard spokesperson Jay Tarriela, both outspoken critics of Beijing&#x27;s actions in the South China Sea.After landing on Saturday (February 21), they spoke to island residents to reaffirm that Thitu Island &quot;is ours&quot;, even as Chinese Coast Guard vessels, a People&#x27;s Liberation Army Navy ship, and some Chinese fishing boats lingered within sight of the shore.At just 37 hectares (0.37 sq km), the coral-fringed Thitu, known to Filipinos as Pag-asa, or &quot;Hope&quot;, is the largest and most prized of the nine Philippines-held features in the Spratly archipelago, located 450 km (280 miles) from the mainland.Its 400-odd residents live modestly, far from the trappings of city life. Yet their quiet presence reinforces the Philippines&#x27; claim of sovereignty at a time of mounting Chinese pressure.Ronnie Cojamco, 51, has been living on the island for over 27 years and decided to stay there due to the island&#x27;s tranquil nature and to support the government&#x27;s claims. &quot;We want to show the world that whoever is claiming it, that our Pagasa island (Thitu Island), the Kalayaan town is for the Filipino people,&quot; he said, referring to the Kalayaan Island Group, the portion of the Spratly Islands that Manila claims and administers, including Thitu.  The visit by Hontiveros and Tarriela, coming as rhetoric on both sides has sharpened, is likely to draw scrutiny from Beijing and add strain to an already tense territorial dispute.Both officials have been repeatedly singled out in Chinese Embassy statements and online messaging campaigns, part of a broader effort to shape narratives about the South China Sea.Manila&#x27;s appointment of a dedicated foreign ministry spokesperson on maritime affairs reflects a growing sensitivity within government ranks as China&#x27;s physical and informational pressure intensifies.&quot;They (China) are claiming this part of our sea, but our Philippine Coast Guard and our armed forces have consistently and confidently answered the radio challenges under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which China was a signatory. China has no jurisdiction here,&quot; Hontiveros said on the tarmac at Thitu.China claims most of the South China Sea, despite the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague invalidating the claims in a 2016 ruling.China&#x27;s actions in the South China Sea, which have included water-cannoning and close-quarter manoeuvring of ships, have resulted in collisions and injury to Philippine crews. China has maintained its actions are lawful and professional, accusing Manila&#x27;s vessels of intruding into its territory. (Production: Karen Lema, Peter Blaza)

As the Philippine Coast Guard plane descended toward the country's most strategically important outpost in the disputed South China Sea, the passengers' phones lit up with a roaming alert: "Welcome to CHINA."

As the Philippine Coast Guard plane descended toward the country's most strategically important outpost in the disputed South China Sea, the passengers' phones lit up with a roaming alert: "Welcome to CHINA."

'Walang jurisdiction ang China dito': Risa reasserts Philippines' claim to Pag-Asa island

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'Walang jurisdiction ang China dito': Risa reasserts Philippines' claim to Pag-Asa island

Reuters

Published Feb 24, 2026 06:39 AM PHT

Read More:

pagasa island

thitu

west philippine sea

south china sea

risa hontiveros

jay tarriela

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