47 young Filipinos calling themselves 'Kalayaan Atin Ito' (Kalayaan This Is Ours) camped on a remote Philippine-held island of Pag-asa, also known as Thitu, in the Spratlys chain in the South China Sea in a symbolic stand against China’s claim to most of the waterway. “Kalayaan”, the Filipino word for freedom, is also the name of the township established by the Philippines in the Spratlys to assert its claim to part of the island chain. While the government opposed the move, President Benigno Aquino’s spokesman Herminio Coloma said on December 27, 2015, that “We recognise the patriotism of these youths that made them venture out.”