Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has decided to issue a formal order declaring a sprawling lagoon in a disputed South China Sea shoal a maritime sanctuary where Filipinos and Chinese will be prohibited from fishing, officials said on Monday.
National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr said Duterte relayed his plan to Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting on the sidelines of the just-concluded Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Peru.
Esperon and other Philippine Cabinet officials present at the meeting said Xi did not say whether he agreed to Duterte’s plan in the Scarborough Shoal.