PHL never gives up positions in West PHL Sea —DND's Andolong

The Philippines never gave up any of its positions in the West Philippine Sea under the Duterte Administration, a spokesperson for the Department of National Defense (DND) said Thursday.

Director Arsenio Andolong said China may have an advantage in the West Philippine Sea due the artificial structures it has built up and militarized.

But, Andolong said, "[the Philippines]  is in position, and to a certain degree, has possession of only a very small part of the South China Sea."

However, he clarified that "possession, position, and control" are "different realities that do not necessarily exist together."

"Although several claimant countries are occupying features in the South China Sea, not one of them has complete and sole control over that entire body of water," he said.

Andolong made the statement to clarify the confusion on a remark made by President Rodrigo Duterte in his recent State of the Nation Address. The chief executive supposedly said China is "in possession" of, not "in position" in the West Philippine Sea.

Just hours after the SONA, Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio sought to correct Duterte.

Both Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon said they heard Duterte say China was "in position."

Andolong, meanwhile, stressed the Philippines is ready to defend the country's sovereign rights in the area.

"Likewise, every able-bodied Filipino should be ready to fulfill his or her duty when the time comes," Andolong said. —LBG/KBK, GMA News