China does not have the “authority or power” to conduct law enforcement operations on waters under the Philippine exclusive economic zone, or EEZ, an official of the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea said. National Security Council Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya, insisted that only the Philippine government has the sovereign right to hold law enforcement operations in the WPS because it is within the country’s EEZ

Kabagani, L. J. (2023, September 10). China can't make arrests in disputed sea. Daily Tribune, p. A2.