Former Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario on Wednesday called on Filipinos, the Philippine government and neighboring countries to support efforts to declare the disputed Spratly Islands a “marine protected area.” The Spratlys is a string of islands in the South China Sea that are claimed by the Philippines, Brunei, China, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam. Del Rosario said that if countries bordering the international sea route would agree to declare Spratlys a marine protected area, this would give the marine life in the region some “breathing space to heal.”

Santos, T. G. (2020, November 19). Del Rosario pushes drive to declare Spratlys 'marine protected area'. Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. A5.