The opposition’s allegation that President Duterte has been kowtowing to China on our territorial disputes is unadulterated hogwash, so grossly ignorant of what sovereignty in the South China Sea entails. After four administrations that just whined to the world over our claims in the South China Sea, as President Aquino most especially did, President Duterte, without much fanfare, ordered in April last year the most rational and realistic approach to defend our claims in the South China Sea: Duterte directed our military to fortify the islands and reefs that we have occupied in the Spratlys, which we call the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG). This is what Taiwan, Vietnam, China and Malaysia have been doing in the past two decades on the islands and reefs they occupy.

Tiglao, R. (2018, June 01). At last, the only rational policy for our disputes in the Spratlys: Fortify our islands and reefs there!. The Manila Times, pp. A1, A6.