Senate OKs option of taking West Philippine Sea to UN Assembly

Resolution strongly condemns China intrusions at sea

MANILA, Philippines — Crossing party lines, senators adopted yesterday a strongly worded resolution condemning China’s incursions in the West Philippine Sea and providing the executive department with several options to deal with the matter, including raising it before the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

The senators unanimously adopted Senate Resolution 718, which was largely based on SR 659 of Sen. Risa Hontiveros and SR 707 of Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri.

After the chamber moved to adopt SR 718, Zubiri clarified that the original points raised by Hontiveros in her resolution were “never watered down.” Hontiveros’ resolution called on the government to raise the issue of Beijing’s bullying and acts of provocation in the West Philippine Sea before the UNGA.

One of the options the government may take to drum up international support for its position, according to SR 718, is filing a resolution before the UNGA “to call for the cessation of all activities that harass Philippine vessels and violate the Philippines’ established rights in the West Philippine Sea and pursuing such other diplomatic modes as the Department of Foreign Affairs may deem appropriate and necessary.”  It said any Philippine action would be in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration based in The Hague invalidating China’s massive claim over almost the entire South China Sea and reaffirming the Philippines’ maritime entitlements.

Zubiri said SR 718 was crafted during an all-members caucus of the Senate attended by Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Enrique Manalo, National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea chairman Secretary Eduardo Año, Armed Forces of the Philippines chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. and other senior officials.

“We have agreed to merge the provisions between the two resolutions and pass a resolution condemning the harassment of the Filipino fishermen and continued incursions of Chinese Coast Guard and militia vessels in the West Philippine Sea,”

Zubiri said. “It was a very cordial, straightforward and productive meeting between the senators and our key government officials dealing with the West Philippine Sea.”

“We came out with a strong consensus yesterday after the discussion with the WPS Task Force together with our colleagues, with General Brawner and DFA Secretary Manalo,” Zubiri said during yesterday’s session.

“Actually, we’ve never watered down resolutions that we filed; we actually strengthened the first resolutions that we initially filed with Senator Risa,” he said.

“I think what happened is we strengthened the position of government. Now we gave them several options to choose on how to deal with our neighbor in the north. And the beauty of this is with proper consensus and, of course, consultation amongst our colleagues, we had come out unanimous with these options,” Zubiri pointed out.

United

The Senate President lauded his colleagues for standing by each other “regardless of political color, regardless of where we come from politically, we are together when it comes to the sovereignty of our country and I’m very proud of this Senate for doing so.”

Hontiveros, meanwhile, thanked fellow opposition Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III for his advice and Zubiri for helping build a consensus on a resolution that she said strongly captures the anger and frustration of the Filipino people.

“The fight against China’s reckless behavior in the West Philippine Sea does not end here. The fight continues,” she said.

She also thanked her fellow senators “for this concerted effort to not only make the WPS issue a part of our national conversation but for ensuring that the Philippine government takes the necessary steps to consolidate global support over our historic 2016 Arbitral Award.”

“This bipartisan effort tells the Filipino people that when it comes to matters of national sovereignty, we will never be bullied into submission. In the face of relentless China propaganda since last week, we held our ground. Despite fake news and lies, we stood firm,” Hontiveros added.

She called the unanimous approval of the resolution an “important victory not only for the Senate, but for the entire Philippines.”

“The Senate crossed party lines to stand unified for our country,” she added.

The resolution does not rule out negotiations as it expects the DFA to continue holding dialogues with the Chinese government.

“If such efforts are continuously ignored by China and the harassment of our fisherfolk, navy and Coast Guard persists, the DFA is further urged to pursue the following courses of action, including bringing international attention to China’s harassment of Filipino fishermen in the Philippine EEZ and its continued violation of the Hague Ruling and the UNCLOS,” the resolution stated.

The resolution cited the necessity of “utilizing international fora to rally multilateral support for the enforcement of the Hague Ruling and raise awareness on the real situation in the West Philippine Sea.”

It also calls for “engaging like-minded countries in various international organizations, meetings and other fora to call on China to respect the Hague Ruling and the UNCLOS, subject to necessity and prudence,” the resolution stated.

Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, who had earlier tried to block Hontiveros’ resolution, said he decided eventually to join his colleagues in adopting SR 718 after concluding that it was “stronger and more comprehensive.”

“We are happy that this is the best language we can come up with. I don’t believe it’s watered down,” Cayetano said of SR 718 during a press briefing.

He stressed he did not agree with Hontiveros’ position that raising the WPS issue before UNGA was the next best option for the Philippines.

Cayetano served as foreign affairs chief during the administration of former president Rodrigo Duterte, which was known for its pivot to Beijing and for setting aside the arbitral ruling in exchange for Chinese loans and investments.

He said he found agreeable a clause in the resolution that says, “If such efforts are continuously ignored by China and the harassment of our fisherolk, navy and Coast Guard persists,” the DFA is “urged to pursue” other courses of actions.

“This resolution is not arguing for the sake of arguing, or for the sake of being brave at the expense of being smart,” Cayetano said in Filipino.

External defense

Meanwhile, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said its training program for reservists is transitioning from internal security to territorial defense.

At the Philippine Army’s 7th Infantry Division (ID) headquarters in Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija, nine Ready Reserve Battalions operating in Central Luzon are being readied for the transition, said AFP public affairs office chief Lt. Col. Enrico Ileto.

“We shall utilize both our regular and reserve forces that have proven to be solid pillars of our country’s defense. We are strengthening their interoperability, enhancing their capability to supplement each other’s strengths,” Maj. Gen. Andrew Costelo, commander of the 7th ID, said in a speech during the unit’s 35th founding anniversary yesterday.

Costelo noted that reservists from the nine Ready Reserve Infantry Battalions under the 7th ID have launched Personnel Leadership Enhancement Program as a capacity-building measure for their commanders and senior staff.

He also praised Reserve Officer Training Corps commanders for participating in leadership programs and in educational and capability enhancement tours where they were able to interact with Army aviators and other elite units.

“As we transition from internal security operations to territorial defense, I commend your aptitude in integrating different assigned forces during peace and conflict. I am happy to see all of the developments, the new establishments and innovations,” said AFP chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., who was guest of honor at the event.

The AFP has declared the coming end of the armed communist rebellion led by the New People’s Army (NPA) and that new challenges for the military have emerged, particularly protecting the country’s territory from external threats.

China has stepped up its provocative activities in the West Philippine Sea where it has built island fortresses and restricted fishing by Filipinos and patrol operations by the Philippine Coast Guard and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources. — Pia Lee Bravo