The United States should have stopped Beijing from constructing military installations in the South China Sea from the start, particularly in areas within the 200-mile exclusive economic zone of the Philippines, said ambassador Jose “Babe” Romualdez. Building military facilities, including expanded runways and ports, within the Philippine economic zone was “tantamount to an attack against us” but the US did nothing to deter the Chinese, said Romualdez. Several countries including Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines are embroiled in territorial disputes with China over ownership of a number of islets, reefs, rocks and shoals in the South China Sea.

Katigbak, J. (2018, February 7). Phl envoy: US should have stopped China. The Philippine Star, p. 6.