MANILA, Philippines - Former president Fidel Ramos has expressed support to former president Benigno Aquino III in relation to the latter’s
stand to bring to international court the complaint against China concerning the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) dispute.?
“This submission to the international tribunal under the United Nations to me is a correct step. We must protest not only directly to the country involved but also to the (UN) for any violations of (the) United Nations Covenant on international law,” Ramos said following the launch of his commemorative book in Quezon City Friday afternoon.?
Earlier, former president Gloria Arroyo said that Aquino’s arbitration suit had provoked China, which in a show of protest began building structures on islets and outcrops in the disputed Spratlys.?
Though Ramos agreed with Arroyo that the submission of the case might have actually provoked China, he stressed: “The submission of the Philippine position on the West Philippine Sea is correct and, well, it may have provoked actions by China to reclaim that, and the protest must be addressed to China. I agree with her. She is correct but that is not the proper target,” Ramos said.?
The former chief executive likewise referred to China’s “challenge” last Friday to a Philippine aircraft en route to Pag-Asa Island in the Spratlys, as a “test” worth ignoring.?
The aircraft, which was reportedly challenged four times, carried Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, military officials and members of the media.
“Do not forget that the Chinese are experts in diplomacy, but double speaking. It was not the counterpart of Secretary Lorenzana or the defense chief of China talking. It’s just a minor junior spokesman,” he said.?
“That’s the way they are because that is what we call in leadership — the ‘deniability.’ In this case, tine-test lang tayo, kaya (we are just being tested, that’s why) ignore it. Mabuhay ka (Long live you,) Mr. Delfin Lorenzana, kaya natin ito (we can do this),” he added.
Lorenzana, however, said that it was a standard move by China.
President Duterte had appointed Ramos as a special envoy tasked to address Philippines-China relations amid tensions brought by overlapping territorial claims in the South China Sea.?
Ramos soon resigned, saying he had done his job, including helping restore the ties of goodwill and friendship between the two nations.
Aid to ‘harassed’ fishermen
In a related South China Sea incident, an opposition congressman yesterday said the Duterte administration should try to help and assist the Filipino fishermen who were reported to have been harassed by a Chinese coast guard recently.
“It’s true we have an obligation under international law to exert all efforts to settle territorial disputes peacefully, but the government also has an international legal obligation as a sovereign nation to protect the interests of its nationals,” Kabayan Rep. Harry Roque said in a statement following reports of an alleged attack by Chinese coast guard elements on the Princess Johann in the disputed Union Bank of the Spratly Islands on March 27.
The first-term party-list congressman and former University of the Philippines law professor said the “use of force by the Chinese coast guard against an unarmed Filipino-owned fishing vessel, if true, is a violation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.”
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said the Filipino-owned vessel was fishing in waters belonging to the country’s 200-mile exclusive economic zone when the Chinese coast guard fired warning shots to drive away the fishermen from Mariveles, Bataan as per television reports. No one was reported injured.
On Thursday, Lorenzana said they were validating the reports. “If true, we will file a protest,” he was quoted as saying.
“International law has always recognized that States, in the recognition by the international legal system of sovereign and territorial rights of states, have concomitant obligations to the protection of the rights of people subject to its jurisdiction,” Roque maintained.
“(Princess Johann) was reportedly fired upon seven times by a Chinese speedboat with seven Chinese coast guards on board,” the PCG statement read.
Quoting Max Huber, the Dutch arbitrator in the landmark 1928 Las Palmas arbitration, Roque said: “Territorial sovereignty, as has already been said, involves the exclusive right to display the activities of a State.
“This right has a corollary, a duty: the obligation to protect within the territory the rights of other States, in particular their right to integrity and inviolability in peace and in war, together with the rights which each State may claim for its nationals in foreign territory.”
Ironically, this was the case where the Philippines lost to Indonesia the island of Las Palmas.
In recent years, Indonesia has used the island to plot the reaches of its own EEZ, eating up large swathes of fishing ground for Philippine fishing vessels.
Roque said the Philippines has the exclusive right to the use of marine resources found in its EEZ. “At the very least, the Philippines should file a diplomatic protest with the Chinese embassy in Manila for the attack,” he said.
“We have a constitutional duty to protect these resources for the future generation of Filipinos,” he added.
Pledge of cooperation
Meanwhile, Chinese authorities have pledged to work with the Philippine government over the reported incident.
“I honestly do not know anything about what you said. You yourself mentioned that the vessels are unidentified, and all sides are in the process of verifying the situation,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said in a press briefing on Friday when asked by a reporter about the matter.
“China also need(s) to check on that. But our position on the South China Sea issue is consistent and clear. We would go on working with the Philippine side to properly deal with relevant maritime issues and create favorable conditions for the sound and steady development of bilateral relations,” he added.
Malacañang said it will leave the matter to the defense department and the national security adviser.
Since assuming office, Duterte has sought to improve ties with Beijing following strained and tense relations between China and the Philippines under Aquino, his predecessor.
After a visit to China last year, Chinese forces have allowed Filipino fisherman access to the resource-rich waters of Scarborough Shoal, a feature inside the Philippine EEZ that was occupied by China in 2012 after a tense standoff.
DND, AFP welcome China’s move
Now that China is also conducting its own investigation over the reported harassment, the truth will finally come out, the defense and the military said yesterday.
Defense spokesman Arsenio Andolong said that China’s move is a welcome development, as this will be a big help to the ongoing investigation being conducted by the department on the incident.
“While we are investigating the incident, we also welcome the move of the Chinese government to conduct its own probe on the reported harassment of Chinese coast guards against Filipino fishermen at Union Bank,” Andolong said.
He added that it is highly important for both parties to find out the truth behind the incident, as this will accordingly determine the next course of actions to be taken by both Manila and Beijing.
Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesman Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla said that the military leadership is looking forward to receiving feedback from their Chinese counterparts.
“We welcome this move and look forward to their feedback,” Padilla said. – With Janvic Mateo, Jaime Laude