Dr. Florangel Rosario Braid It is about time for us, all Filipino citizens, to take a united stand on the West Philippine Sea, and demand that our leaders do the same. Our confused state, the mixed messages we send, and flip-flopping from President Duterte has set us back in our advocacy. We have wasted time and resources that should have been committed in the pursuit of our goal if our leaders had been single-minded in their advocacy. In this timeline, are actions and statements made by Manila and Beijing during the months of April and May, 2021: April 5: Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana accuses Beijing of planning to occupy more “features” in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) with reports that a fleet of 220 Chinese ships in the area. This sparked a diplomatic row with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) filing several protests. Manila had asked Beijing to withdraw its “maritime militia” vessels which China had refused, insisting they were fishing boats.