MANILA – Malacañang has deferred to comment on the reported sighting of a Chinese airship above Mischief or Panganiban Reef in the West Philippine Sea.
Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said security officials have yet to verify the report.
“I will defer to the statement issued by the Secretary of Foreign Affairs. That is again subject always to the National Security Adviser as well as the Department of National Defense secretary for validation,” Panelo told reporters Monday.
He said that security officials always release statements relative to matters concerning national security.
“And that is again subject always to the National Security Adviser (Hermogenes Esperon), as well as the Department of National Defense Secretary (Delfin Lorenzana) for validation,” he added.
ImageSat International, which specializes in providing high-resolution satellite imagery and mapping, said in a Twitter post last November 24 that China’s aerostat was sighted over the Mischief Reef on Nov. 18.
Panganiban Reef, which is being reclaimed by China, is located within the Philippines’ 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone or the West Philippine Sea.
The Philippine and China have been at odds for years over contested territories in the South China Sea, with the Philippines winning an internationally-backed arbitration case against China before the The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration in July 2016./PN
