President Duterte plans to issue an executive order unilaterally declaring the lagoon of the disputed Panatag Shoal a marine sanctuary, where neither Filipinos nor Chinese may be allowed to fish. Mr. Duterte told Chinese President Xi Jinping about his plan during their bilateral meeting on Saturday on the sideline of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum here, according to National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr., who was present at the meeting. "The President has decided to declare that a sanctuary. That is a unilateral action from the government," he said, referring to the triangular lagoon "as big as Quezon City" and known to be a spawning ground for fish.

Yap, D. (2016, November 22). Duterte to declare Panatag a marine Sanctuary. Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. A15.