What every Juan should know about the West Philippine Sea

What should we do when another country claims our land? Should we keep mum about it? Allow them to use it? Or should we stand up and fight for our right?

Jennifer Lopez during the US presidential inauguration sang, “This land is my land, this land is your land... This land was made for you and me.” The song written by Woodie Guthrie has always been sang to inspire and stir up fervor for love of country. Our countrymen must never lose hope and continue to fight for what is right.

It is unfortunate that this administration has clearly been playing games with us. At first during his presidential campaign and during his first few months in office, Duterte promised to raise the Philipine flag in the Kalayaan Islands on June 12. Everyone was happily awaiting the moment which never happened. Instead he went to China and got huge loans amounting to billions of dollars for infrastructure projects. This act seems to have opened China’s soft ‘economic’ invasion to our shores. A few months later, we had Chinese workers in the country and then, we witnessed a much more aggressive stand on our Kalayaan Islands. Sanamagan!

This is the eighth year from the filing of the South China Sea arbitration by the Philippines against China and if we don’t continue to hold on to the truth and stand our ground, we will lose our precious land.

China has been constructing structures in the West Philippine Sea just to show that the islands belong to them. But how can we prove that the islands belong to us? We need to understand very well what is the extent of Philippine territory so that we can protect our rights on the West Philippine Sea.

There are important decisions on constitutional law. This decision, according to former Associate Justice Antonio T. Carpio, upholds the constitutionality of the archipelagic base lines. Let us find out some truths about the issue according to Justice Carpio, who has led us to the truth and who has continued to fight for our rights.

The West Philippine Sea (WPS) is part of the Philippine territory lying within the South China Sea. The WPS is the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Philippines. Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, Kalayaan Island Group and parts of Spratly Islands lie within the WPS.

The Philippines was the first to claim the West Philippine Sea in early 18th century. It can be seen in a map made in 1734 by Fr. Pedro Murillo Velarde, a Jesuit priest. The map shows that the Panacot Shoal before it became the Scarborough Shoal belongs to the Philippines. Aside from this, it can also be seen in the map that the Philippines has identified Los Bajos de Paragua, now called the Spratly islands, as part of the Philippine territory a long time ago.

Why does China say that the islands in the WPS belong to them? The Chinese believe that they have a historical right to own the WPS. They say that since the time of the dynasties in China, 2000 years ago, South China Sea together with the WPS already belong to them. China started their claim on the WPS in 1947. The Chinese government brought out the map that shows a U-shape, 9-dash line. All the islands and the natural resources that are part of the WPS is within their 9-dash line.

How did the WPS issue become a big one? In 1982, the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea or UNCLOS was created among the countries who signed it. Together with this is having Exclusive Economic Zone or EEZ. According to the agreement, every country has exclusive rights to the sea and the natural resources within 200 nautical miles from the nearest seashore. China did not respect the agreement of the UNCLOS. So, from 1995 to the present time, China continues to occupy the islands and claim the natural resources in the WPS. In the past years, they have built large structures in Panganiban (Mischief) Reef and worse, have not allowed Filipino fishermen to fish.

In 2002, China together with the other ASEAN countries signed the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), with the aim of resolving the issue on the South China Sea, especially the WPS. Sadly, China continues to violate the agreement.

What happened to the arbitral tribunal that sided with the Philippines by saying that there is no legal or historical basis on China’s claim of the South China Sea, particularly the WPS? Again, China did not respect the decision. They continued to build airports, sea ports and military bases at the Mischief Reef and Subi Reef. Their ships continue to fish in the WPS. By the way, according to UNCLOS and the Arbitral Tribunal, it is only the Philippines who owns all the fishes, oil, gas and other natural resources inside its EEZ. So, we must continue to protect our own natural resources. Why?

What is our national interest in the WPS? First, the Kalayaan Island Group and the Bajo de Masinloc are part of the WPS. Both are important for our national integrity and sovereignty. Kalayaan is a municipality that was established in 1980 in the province of Palawan. Bajo de Masinloc, on the other hand, is an island that is part of the Municipality of Masinloc in the province of Zambales. Our islands in the Kalayaan serve as our protection against external threats. We must remember that during World War II, one of the islands in the Kalayaan was used by the Japanese when they invaded the Philippines. We must never let this happen again!

Second, we are dependent on the WPS for our food and livelihood. This is rich in different kinds of fish and serves as a marine sanctuary. As a matter of fact, 12 percent of the world’s annual fish catch is from the South China Sea which includes the WPS. This is equivalent to $21 billion. This is what supports the everyday living, food and livelihood of thousands of Filipino fishermen.

Did you know that the WPS is rich in natural gas? According to research, billions of natural gas can be found here, particularly at the Recto Bank. This is the reason why the WPS is important to us. We depend on it to live and it answers our decade-old problem on electricity.

What are the reasons why we should fight for the WPS? First, it is stated in Article 56 of the UNCLOS that the Philippines has the right to use the natural resources within our EEZ. It is also stated in Article 60 that the Philippines has exclusive rights to build economic and industrial structures on its EEZ. Second, it is stated in Article 12 of the Constitution that the water resources in our EEZ need to be protected. The Philippines has the exclusive right and freedom to use these and that the livelihood of our fishermen is a priority in its use. Third, after the decision of the Arbitral Tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, in favor of the Philippines, it is made clear that there is no historical or legal bases for China to claim the WPS.

For more on the West Philippine Sea, watch on YouTube the six-episode presentation of Ang Laban Ni Juan para sa West Philippine Sea – Mula sa isang naninindigan, patuloy na lumalaban, at may higit na sapat na kaalaman, Justice Antonio T. Carpio (Visit Facebook and YouTube Channel: The Institute for Maritime and Ocean Affairs, Inc.).

As a nation we must be informed; know our legal right and continue to fight for our right, without question or doubt.