Lawmakers condemn continued Chinese presence at Julian Felipe Reef
MANILA, Philippines — With 44 Chinese vessels still remaining in Julian Felipe (Whitsun) Reef, two lawmakers condemned the continued Chinese presence in Philippine waters, demanding that the regional superpower vacate the hotly-contested territory.
In separate statements issued Monday morning, senators Risa Hontiveros and Panfilo Lacson slammed what they said was the "continued deceit and aggression" on Beijing's part and the lack of action from Manila.
To recall, the Department of National Defense earlier this weekend demanded Chinese vessels to leave the West Philippine Sea anew, saying they have “no other reason” to remain there. This comes after the department had already sent out ships to patrol the area.
"So hard-headed. The Chinese vessels in Julian Felipe reef should leave immediately. If they are fishing vessels as China claims, then they can't fish in our Exclusive Economic Zone without our consent. Is it really a misunderstanding or are they purposely deceiving us?" Hontiveros said in mixed Filipino and English.
"The situation is made worse when our country's leaders and foreign policy decision-makers resort to acquiesce bordering on implied derogation of our sovereignty," Lacson also said for his part.
In his strongly-worded statement Saturday, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said that Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian "has a lot of explaining to do."
“We, again, reiterate our demand for the Chinese to leave our sovereign territories and abide by international law,” Lorenzana said then.
To this day, Beijing continues to reject the arbitral ruling that the Philippines won in The Hague in 2016 based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which held that China's sweeping nine-dash line claim has no legal basis.
President Rodrigo Duterte has publicly asserted that he cannot do anything on the maritime dispute as doing so, he falsely claimed, would directly mean going to war with them.
Lacson called for the establishment of strong diplomatic relations with other countries.
"Even amid this pandemic, such 'health crisis opportunism' being applied by China does not speak well of the assumed trust and goodwill between the two Asian allies," he said.
"The fact that we are a militarily weak country that cannot match China's military power should compel us to resort to establishing stronger alliances not only with other Asia-Pacific neighbors like Australia and Japan and the other ASEAN countries, but our long-standing western allies like the US and Europe. Only through a clear message that the presence of 'balance of power' in the West Philippine Sea can help us in this regard."
Hontiveros in her statement called for urgency on the part of the national government in acting on the increasingly volatile tensions in the territory.
"The Philippine government should also already study effective ways of making China pay for her incursion. Beijing has damaged parts of our seas beyond repair and it's only right that it pays for this irreversible destruction... Every delay on our end is an opportunity for China to seize what is justly and rightfully ours," Hontiveros said.
"The Chinese Communist Party wants to be Asia's leader but, instead, it has become Asia's biggest bully. Instead of uniting the region, it has united the region against it. How long can such a regime hold any sort of mandate to lead the region?" she added. "A strategy based on lies and deception does not always make one sublime; sometimes, it also exposes one as lying."
— Franco Luna
The United States Navy's Nimitz-class nuclear powered supercarrier USS John C. Stennis continues underway in the South China Sea.
The US Pacific Command just reported that it has received "cargo" from support ship USNS Rainier in the disputed waters.
#GreatGreenFleet's USS @Stennis74 receives cargo from USNS #Rainier in the #SouthChinaSea - @US7thFleet pic.twitter.com/MnJWrow6Vv
— U.S. Pacific Command (@PacificCommand) June 10, 2016
The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources conducts an aerial maritime inspection over Scarborough Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc on Thursday, according to a report of PTV.
PTV says BFAR is checking if the southeast portion of Bajo de Mansinloc remains free from illegal and hazardous floating barriers.
Earlier this week, the Philippine Coast removed the chains surrounding the entrance of Bajo de Masinloc installed by the China Coast Guard. — PTV
The National Security Council condemns the installation of the floating barriers of the China Coast Guard in Bajo de Masinloc, PTV reports on Monday.
“It ruled categorically that such action by the PRC violated the traditional fishing rights of our fishermen in the shoal who have been fishing there for centuries," NSC Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya says.
"Any State that prevents them from doing artisanal fishing there violates UNCLOS and international law, in general,” he adds.
PTV reports that BRP Antonio Luna of the Philippine Navy and HMCS Ottawa of the Royal Canadian Navy conducted a joint sail in the West Philippine Sea on Sept. 21.
“The joint sail is part of the Philippine Navy's regular engagements with its partners in the Philippines' maritime zones. Bravo Zulu to all the personnel of both ships and those who planned this activity," Ltc Enrico Gil Ileto, Public Affairs AFP chief says.
WATCH: BRP Antonio Luna of the Philippine Navy and HMCS Ottawa of the Royal Canadian Navy conducted a joint sail in the West Philippine Sea on Sept. 21. (????: AFP Wescom) | via Bea Bernardo (1/2) pic.twitter.com/DmJguzJSiF
— PTVph (@PTVph) September 22, 2023
Ahead of the second State of the Nation Address of President Ferdinand Marcis Jr, the descendants of the Bai sa Condor and Anta sa Tebouk, on behalf of the Iranun in the Philippines composed of 16 sultans, formally declares ownership of the Spratly Islands and the Scarborough Shoals as patrimony from their ancestors.
The declaration of ownership is led by Sultan Tomas Reyes Cabili, Jr. as part of the advocacy of the Tomas Ll. Cabili Foundation (TLC Foundation).
"TLC Foundation is doing this for our country’s sake as a whole on our claim for what is ours. Not just for our Muslim brothers and the Moro Origins of Mindanao (IRANUN), BUT for all the Filipinos - and the next generations to come. All the Philippines’ descendants of the Iranunis unfurling the historical dimension of the Spratlys and the ScarboroughShoals to strengthen the Philippines' claim on them and complement the theoretical frameworks already presented in the United Nations," Cabili says.
Raymond Powell, project lead at the Gordion Knot Center for National Security Innovation, tweets that China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels "maneuvered dangerously close" to two Philippine Coast Guard ships on a resupply mission at Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea last week.
In a tweet, Powell identifies the ships as BRP Malabrigo and BRP Malapascua. He says these were escorting a small-boat resupply mission to the Philippines' outpost aboard BRP Sierra Madre and were met by an armada of CCG and militia ships, as well as a possible navy vessel.
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