The Duterte administration is shelving the issue of the country’s claim on Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal to ensure that Filipino fisherfolk can freely fish there. Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr. made the clarification two days after China protested the presence of a United States warship just 12 nautical miles from Panatag Shoal, which lies within the Philippines’ 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone. “Our interest is protecting the rights of our fisherfolk to fish in that area, and they are free to do that now. We stand by our principle that Scarborough Shoal is our territory, but we are shelving the issue of territory because we want to provide livelihood for our people,” Roque said in a news conference.

Panti, L. T. (2018, January 23). Palace: Panatag issue 'shelved' to secure access to fishing grounds. The Manila Times, pp. A1, A8.