Maximum restraint vowed in sea row

MANILA, Philippines - Despite China’s latest incursion into Philippine waters and other acts of provocation, Manila is exercising maximum restraint and is sticking to diplomacy in addressing the situation, Malacañang said yesterday.

“Of course, we view it (China’s provocation) with grave concern, which is why we have chosen the path that we did – we are for the diplomatic (solution),” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said over state-run radio dzRB.

A Chinese fishing flotilla – accompanied by armed naval ships – recently swarmed into Ayungin Shoal in the Spratlys. Manila’s diplomatic protests to Beijing over the incident remain unanswered.

“We’ve not changed our stance, if you notice in the maritime disputes that we’ve had in the past years, and it’s deliberate,” Valte said.

“We’ve chosen not to respond to provocative statements and provocative actions that may not be productive for the path that we’ve chosen to take. So our choices are deliberate, that we will go through peaceful means,” she said.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has warned that the current maritime tensions could lead to armed hostilities in the disputed areas, particularly with the armed patrols being conducted by China.

The Department of National Defense, for its part, said it is ready to defend the country’s territory up to the last soldier.

Valte said DFA Secretary Albert del Rosario was right in his assessment that the West Philippine Sea is a potential flashpoint and that extreme care should be taken in dealing with the issue.

“Which is why we have taken the approach that we have,” she said.

“If you notice, when it comes to maritime disputes, we have only one approach – that we need to resort to the diplomatic solution, we adhere to the rules-based approach, and our policy is to find the best way to have a resolution,” Valte pointed out.

But she stressed the government is not underestimating the readiness and determination of our soldiers to defend the country.

Asked if President Aquino would convene the National Security Council or call for a full Cabinet meeting like what he did when Chinese vessels first swamped Panatag Shoal, Valte said the Chief Executive had made clear that “given the capacity, our capabilities at hand and our limitations, we will continue to deal with the problem in the way that we have dealt with the others, meaning through resources that are available to us.”

“And he said so far, we’re dealing with it on the level that is effective for us,” Valte said.

She also said the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) is looking into reports that more local fishermen in Masinloc in Zambales have lost their livelihood due to Chinese incursion at Panatag Shoal.

There are reports that some fishermen who used to earn up to P500,000 a month had to give up their businesses due to Chinese encroachment in the shoal.

Valte said some Masinloc residents had to abandon fishing and focus on other means of livelihood.

“And BFAR assured us that first, they are helping find other areas to fish and secondly, the payao (fish enclosure) set up is still existing. They are near the shore so they don’t need to go far out to the sea,” Valte said. A

sked if there is a need to increase patrols to protect endangered species as well, Valte said, “If you’re asking for a specific area, if this is in reference to Ayungin again, I’ll just repeat it: It’s deliberate… We’ve chosen not to respond.”

“It’s very deliberate on the part of the Philippine government. We’ve chosen not to respond to provocative actions or statements that may tend to escalate the situation. But I can assure you that the patrols continue in other parts of the country,” Valte said.

Defiant fishermen

In Ayungin Shoal, meanwhile, Filipino fishermen were braving harassment from Chinese vessels now brazenly operating in the area, which is within the country’s 200-mile exclusive economic zone.

Kalayaan Mayor Eugenio Bito-onon said Chinese maritime vessels have become very aggressive in driving away local fishermen around Ayungin Shoal.

“But they’re unsuccessful because they’re up against Filipino sea hustlers who’ve been fishing in that area for decades. Our fishermen have full knowledge of the sea in the entire Spratlys, unlike the Chinese who are just new to the area,” Bito-onon.

Over the past two weeks, Chinese naval and maritime ships have taken positions near Ayungin Shoal as Beijing continues to flex its muscle and assert its territorial claim to almost the entire South China Sea and West Philippine Sea.

China reportedly has two surveillance ships and a frigate in the vicinity of Ayungin Shoal, an area being guarded by a handful of Filipino troops stationed on a grounded Philippine Navy logistic ship, BRP Sierra Madre.

Ayungin Shoal is part of the Philippines’ regime of islands in the hotly contested Spratlys group, to which four other countries – Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei – have claims.

After establishing positions in the waters near Malaysia, Chinese vessels are now trying to dislodge Filipino troops from Ayungin by blocking their supply route, the military said.

Bito-onon said “our hustler-fishermen can easily do the job” of re-supplying the small Filipino garrison in Ayungin.

Aside from acting as escorts to Chinese fishing boats in the area, large Chinese vessels are also engaged in naval operations in the vicinity – apparently aimed at intimidating local fishermen and the coast guard.

One of these Chinese ships recently chased and harassed MT Queen Seagull, a utility boat of Kalayaan town, while it was sailing from Pag-Asa Island to mainland Palawan with more than 100 civilian passengers.

The Kalayaan mayor proposed that the government quickly set into motion its development plan for seven islets and two reefs occupied by Filipinos in the Spratlys – specifically by building a safe and well equipped harbor in Pag-Asa Island, the seat of the island municipality.

“Development of infrastructure in the country’s regime of islands should also coincide with the ongoing modernization and capability upgrade program of our Armed Forces,” Bito-onon said, adding that it’s only the Philippines that is observing a status quo in infrastructure development in the Spratlys region.

“China and Vietnam are continuously constructing military outposts,” he said.