Philippines stands by EEZ rights but won’t use force vs Chinese vessels By LLANESCA T. PANTI, GMA News Published April 5, 2021 5:19pm The Palace has stopped short of calling on Chinese vessels to leave Julian Felipe Reef which is within the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) on Monday even if it has maintained that the said reef belongs to the Philippines. “We will not give up even a single inch of our national territory or our exclusive economic zone and we hope friendly relations will result to a peaceful resolution of this impasse,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in response to exchange of statements between the Chinese Embassy in Manila and Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana.