Phl laughs off ‘territorial claim by drawing’

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang rejected yesterday China’s new “10-dash line” map that included areas being claimed by the Philippines in the West Philippine Sea, South China Sea and even Palawan, describing it as a mere “drawing” that is contrary to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

In a press briefing, Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. of the Presidential Communications Operations Office said the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) had expressed the country’s position on the issue and that maritime entitlements in the South China Sea could not be based on a “drawing.”

Last Wednesday, DFA spokesman Charles Jose said the publication of the new map “shows China’s unreasonably expansive claim that is clearly contrary to international law,” particularly the UNCLOS.

“It is precisely such ambitious expansionism that is causing the tensions in the South China Sea,” Jose said.

Among Filipinos, the term “drawing” is not just a sketch but connotes something that is invented, untrue, or one’s word that is not kept and can just be mocked or dismissed.

The new Chinese map, which was first published last January by China’s state mapping authority Sinomap Press, features 10 dash lines instead of nine dash lines to mark a huge swath of the South China Sea in a tongue-shaped encirclement as Chinese territory.

Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam have been contesting China’s claim over the whole of the South China Sea.

Nine dashes in the new Chinese map are in the South China Sea and a tenth dash has been placed near Taiwan, purportedly to signify that territory’s status as a Chinese province.

“They drew a nine-dash line. Now it’s supposed to be 10. Based on history, it was 11-dash line during the Chiang Kai-shek regime. That 11 became nine, now it’s 10,” Coloma said.

“But in totality, to put it simply, they just drew that. All those drawings are superseded by the UNCLOS,” he said.

This is the reason why signatories to the UNCLOS are calling for respect for the provisions of the UNCLOS, Coloma said, noting that the Philippines went to the UN arbitral tribunal precisely to resolve the matter peacefully and through diplomatic and legal means.

He said the Philippines has also been pushing for a code of conduct in the South China Sea between the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations and China.

Coloma stressed it was time to have a code that would guide the behavior of all countries in their maritime entitlement claims.

“Finding long-term solutions that will lead to security and stability in the region continues,” Coloma said.

“While it is apparent that this move does not promote the cause of regional stability, we reiterate our focus on diplomatic, political and legal options that will bring about the peaceful resolution of disputes on conflicting claims to maritime entitlements in the South China Sea,” he said.

Meanwhile, former Parañaque City Rep. Roilo Golez yesterday said the Philippines must brace for more blatant Chinese intrusions in the South China Sea after Beijing published a new map that expands its claim over disputed waters. – With Pia Lee-Brago, Paolo Romero, Jaime Laude