On March 2, the US Navy announced that it had recovered from the bottom of the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) the top-of-the-line stealth fighter jet it lost in an accident on January 24. To do so it obviously had to collect information on the area, particularly the nature of the sea floor. This requires permission or the acquiescence of the Philippine government. However, there has been a deafening silence on this matter emanating from the Philippine government. Moreover, nothing has been heard from presidential and senatorial electoral candidates and nationalist pundits who are usually outspoken supporters of Philippine rights in its maritime jurisdictional zones in the South China Sea, especially vis-à-vis China.

Valencia, M. (2022, March 9). Philippines' pols mum as US collects data from its EEZ [Commentary]. DailyGuardian, pp. 4, 5.