Robredo urges Philippines to file diplomatic protest vs China

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines should pursue all diplomatic avenues, including filing a formal protest, over China’s increasingly aggressive military actions in the South China Sea, Vice President Leni Robredo said on Tuesday.

Robredo’s statement came after it was reported that China’s People’s Liberation Army Air Force landed a long-range bomber on Woody Island, Beijing’s largest outpost in the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea.

The vice president said that she is concerned about these reported landings and take-offs, which were part of a Chinese military exercise.

“The news that there were planes from China with nuclear capability that landed on our islands was extremely worrying. Aside from this, the landed and take-off exercises of China’s long-range bombers in the West Philippine Sea were extremely alarming,” Robredo said in Filipino in a statement.

READ: Alejano: Timid response to China puts Philippines, neighbors at risk

Paracels not in West Philippine Sea

The vice president however mistakenly claimed that the take-off and landing exercises happened on islands claimed by the Philippines.

Manila is not staking a claim to Woody Island which is part of Paracel Islands. The Paracels are outside of the West Philippine Sea, a part of the South China Sea where Philippines claims to have exclusive economic zone.

In a clarification, Barry Gutierrez, the vice president’s spokesman, said that despite the geographical mistake, the fact remains that Chinese bombers pose a threat to Manila’s interests in the West Philippine Sea and the security of the region as a whole.

"Our DFA should address this issue decisively," he said in a Twitter post.

READ: Failure to protest China's bombers mean consent to militarization — Carpio

China’s artificially-built islands in the West Philippine Sea, in theory, can also launch and receive these bombers as its construction of military-grade facilities on them is already finished.

Robredo said that China’s militarization and construction of structures on features it claimed posed a threat to Philippine security.

She urged the Philippines to file a diplomatic protest to register the country’s opposition to China’s action in the disputed waters, a resource-rich region through which around $3 trillion worth of trade passes annually.

“The Filipino people is expecting the government to defend with all courage the country’s security. If the government itself will not stand up for the territorial integrity of the country, on whom will the nation depend?” Robredo said.

“Let us pursue all diplomatic means to ensure that our relationship with our neighboring countries remains smooth, but this should not compromise our nation. One of the primary responsibilities of the government and each Filipino is to defend the security of the nation against all threats,” she added.

China’s latest military actions in the South China Sea set off international jitters over its real intention in the resource-rich region.

China’s landing and take-off of H-6K bombers had basically put all of Southeast Asia within range of Beijing’s air force.

READ: Palace: China not a threat but bomber in South China Sea a cause for concern