Hontiveros questions Cayetano on '50 to 100 diplomatic actions' against China
MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Risa Hontiveros on Tuesday asked Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano to bare the details of the supposed diplomatic actions lodged against China's actions in the West Philippine Sea.
During a House hearing in May, Cayetano claimed that the Department of Foreign Affairs has filed 50 to 100 diplomatic actions against Beijing in the past two years.
Cayetano, however, refused to answer Hontiveros when the senator asked him about the nature of the diplomatic actions.
The Foreign Affairs chief instead criticized the Aquino administration for "internationalizing" the maritime dispute on the South China Sea, part of which is the West Philippine Sea.
"When President Duterte came in, we were very concerned that the Chinese will be building in Scarborough (Shoal) because what the Aquino admintration left... if there was no provocation, we will not build but they considered certain actions of the Philippines was provocation," Cayetano told the Senate finance committee furing the budget hearing for the DFA.
'We haven't counted'
Hontiveros continued to press Cayetano on his previous "50 to 100 diplomatic actions" remarks despite his refusal to bare the details.
"Could you at least give some general idea to the committee — so you are confirming that there are 50 to 100 diplomatic actions? How many were in the form of notes verbale? How many were diplomatic démarches? How many were collective notes if there were any?" Hontiveros asked Cayetano.
Cayetano then insisted that it was only Rep. Gary Alejano (Magdalo Party-list) who has been insisting to reveal the details of the diplomatic protests.
The secretary later on admitted that the DFA has not counted the diplomatic actions filed against Beijing.
"Honestly, we haven't counted but we are giving you the assurance that each and every incident we take the appropriate diplomatic action," Cayetano told the Senate panel.
'When Duterte talks to Xi, it's a protest'
When Hontiveros expressed her disbelief that the DFA has not counted the diplomatic actions filed against China, Cayetano said that his "50 to 100" statement was just an estimate.
Cayetano further explained that discussions among Philippine and Chinese officials can also be considered as diplomatic actions.
"Those are estimates but I explained to them that when the president (Rodrigo Duterte) talks to President Xi (Jinping), that is a protest. When I talk to my counterpart and tell them, that is a protest," Cayetano said.
The DFA secretary assured Hontiveros that he can count the diplomatic actions and reveal it in a closed session, stressing that it is not the Duterte administration's strategy to keep announcing diplomatic actions.
"It was the strategy of the Aquino administration to announce every protest and to get a reaction from China and to internationalize and to make it a big part of the relationship with China," Cayetano said.
"We have the opposite strategy and I dare say that our strategy is working much better than the past administration's strategy," he added.
Under the Duterte administration, the Philippines and China launched a bilateral consultative mechanism on the South China Sea.
The Duterte administration also shelved the July 2016 landmark ruling of the United Nations-backed Permanent Court of Arbitration, which invalidated Beijing's nine-dash line claim over the South China Sea.
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