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Palace: No Chinese flag off PHL-controlled Kota Island


There is no Chinese flag planted near the Philippine-controlled Kota Island in Spratlys, Malacañang said on Thursday.

“I inquired about that and apparently, as of this stage, there is no flag, you know, as of this stage. And but it seems that the place, in itself, is subject to many passers-through and in fact, there are evidences of people who do park there,” presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said in a briefing.

“And mainly but these are not military but mainly these are citizens who may be—but this is not verified—but mainly, these are citizens and not white or gray ships,” he added.

This was contrary to what Magdalo party-list Representative Gary Alejano revealed on Tuesday—that a Chinese flag was planted seven nautical miles off Kota Island in the West Philippines Sea.

According to Abella, he asked a reliable source he did not identify to confirm if there was indeed a Chinese flag near Kota Island.

“According to the source that I referred to, there was none. There were no flags during that time,” he said. — MDM, GMA News

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