Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founder Jose Maria “Joma” Sison on Thursday declared his support to the legal struggle of the Philippine government against the “aggressive acts” of China in the West Philippine Sea. “The [Philippine government] has good reason to demonstrate the seriousness of the [Philippine] position,” Sison told the Inquirer in an online interview. Sison said he and his wife, Julie de Lima-Sison, signed the “Joint manifesto of Filipinos and friends of the Filipino people in the Netherlands” supporting the Philippine government’s fight for national sovereignty and maritime rights in the West Philippine Sea “against the aggressive acts of China.” The West Philippine Sea is part of the South China Sea within the Philippines’ 370-kilometer exclusive economic zone (EEZ) recognized under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos).

Mallari, D. T. Jr. (2015, July 10). Joma backs PH legal battle vs China over sea dispute. Philippine Daily Inquirer, pp. A1, A19.