President Rodrigo Duterte said he would not order the withdrawal of Philippine vessels in the West Philippine Sea despite the lingering presence of Chinese vessels in the disputed waters. Duterte made the statement in reaction to incursions by nearly 300 Chinese militia vessels in the area. “We have a stand here, and I want to state it here and now again that ‘yung mga barko natin nandiyan ngayon sa Pag-asa [Island] at saan pa, we will not move an inch backward (We have made a stand, and I want to state it here now again that we will not move our vessels in Pag-asa and in other areas an inch backward),” the President said during a televised meeting with his Cabinet on Friday.

Calayag, K. (2021, May 15). Duterte won't pull out PH vessels in disputed sea.The Manila Times, pp. A1, A2.