AFP: Philippines not stirring up trouble in West Philippine Sea

MANILA, Philippines — The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) again slammed China yesterday for claiming anew that it is Manila that is stirring up or provoking trouble in the West Philippine Sea.

“We are not stirring up trouble. We are following international law and we are implementing our domestic law,” military spokesman Col. Medel Aguilar said in a public briefing over state-run PTV 4.

He issued the statement in reaction to fresh claims by China’s state media alleging that it is the Philippines that is starting problems in the West Philippine Sea, is spreading wrong or false information and is even involving other foreign forces in doing so.

Aguilar maintained that the AFP operates within the country’s territorial waters inside its exclusive economic zone, where the Philippines has sovereign rights and jurisdiction.

“We are acting in accordance with law, we are not engaging in maritime activities that put others in danger, like what they are doing,” he countered, emphasizing that it is, in fact, the other way around.

The AFP had earlier noted that not one country in the world is supporting China’s claims of owning almost the entire South China Sea, while the Philippines enjoys growing international support.

“They are conducting shadowing, conducting dangerous maneuvers, they are using water cannons that result in collisions at sea. So, in all the violations, they are the ones responsible,” Aguilar said.

He clarified that international alliances are being forged and strengthened because other nations know that the Philippines is on the right side.

Aguilar said such partnerships promote international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), because “this is the only way to peacefully resolve maritime disputes.”

President Marcos, just last week, called on the AFP to further enhance its alliances with other nations as one of the ways to resolve the country’s problems with China in the West Philippine Sea.

The military has repeatedly reassured the public that it will continue to exercise the country’s rights over its territorial waters despite harassment and coercion from the Chinese Coast Guard and its maritime militia.

Commentary

Senate minority leader Aquilino Pimentel III has brushed off an opinion piece in a Chinese communist mouthpiece that accused the Philippines of stirring trouble in the West Philippine Sea.

“Let us remember that that is the Chinese position meant to be read by the Chinese people,” Pimentel said yesterday in response to a commentary in the People’s Daily, the official newspaper of China’s Communist Party.

The commentary accused the Philippines of spreading false information and of committing “extremely dangerous” behavior by seeking support from its traditional defense treaty ally the United States.

The commentary also accused the US of “threatening” China by invoking its mutual defense treaty with the Philippines to come to Manila’s aid in case of an attack.

“Let us not be influenced by the position of others and let us stick to our official position and continue to explain this to our people and to the rest of the world, who care to listen and understand,” Pimentel said, adding that the Philippines should instead continue to protect its territorial integrity by resisting China’s incursions. — Marc Jayson Cayabyab