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The United States had thought it was “inconceivable” for the Philippines to have promised China that it would remove its ship from its own waters, US Ambassador MaryKay Carlson said, adding that she commended President Marcos for his “powerful” response to that claim which China made twice this week.
In an interview during her visit to the Inquirer office on Thursday, Carlson said Manila was regularly communicating with Washington regarding the South China Sea—particularly the West Philippine Sea, as Manila calls the waters within its excluisive economic zone (EEZ).
With the Philippines taking the lead in asserting its sovereignty, the United States is right behind with its support, Carlson said.
She said Manila’s supposed promise to Beijing that it would remove the BRP Sierra Madre from Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal “didn’t make sense,” because the waters being claimed by China were “within the continental shelf and exclusive economic zone of the Philippines.
