AROUND 300 Chinese vessels remained in Philippines waters, including off Kalayaan town in Palawan, based on latest patrols conducted by maritime authorities, the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) said yesterday.
The task force said 287 of the vessels were Chinese militia ships while “bigger groupings” were spotted in Chinese-built artificial islands.
National security Adviser and NTF-WPS chairman Hermogenes Esperon said based on the maritime patrols conducted on May 9, 287 Chinese marine militias (CMMs) were “scattered over various features of the municipality of Kalayaan, both within and outside the EEZ (exclusive economic zone) of the Philippines.”
Other vessels such as those from the Chinese Coast Guard and the Vietnam Coast Guard were also spotted within and outside the Philippines’ EEZ.
Among those spotted during maritime patrol on May 9 are two CMMs and two Houbei Class Missile warships inside the Panganiban or Mischief Reef; a CMM vessel at Lawak or Nansha Island; a CMM vessel at Ayungin or Second Thomas Shoal, and 11 CMMs at about 29 nautical miles southwest of Recto or Reed Bank.
Also seen on May 9 were 14 CMM vessels and one Chinese Coast Guard vessel off the coasts of Pag-asa Island, 16 CMMs at Zamora or Subi Reef, 34 CMMs at Juan Felipe or Whitsun Reef, 77 CMMs in Chigua or McKennan Reef; two Vietnamese (VN) logistics/supply ships; and one Vietnamese Coast Guard vessel at Sin Cowe East or Grierson Reef.
Esperon said the Julian Felipe Reef is a “low tide elevation” located 175 nautical miles from Bataraza in Palawan and within the Philippines’ EEZ, while Chigua Reef and Grierson Reef is within the territorial seas of Kalayaan but have overlapping territorial seas with China and Vietnam, respectively.
Esperon also clarified that the Julian Felipe Reef is within the Philippines’ EEZ after presidential spokesman Harry Roque said it is not.
Roque clarified that Julian Felipe Reef is within the Philippines’ EEZ and part of the Kalayaan municipality but it was never physically in the possession of the Philippines. He also said that he already talked with Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. after the latter said on social media that the WPS issue should just be left to the Department of Foreign Affairs.
The NTF-WPS said several more ships were also found dutring patrols conducted on May 3 to 10.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. late Tuesday said his department has the “exclusive remit” when it comes to the country’s foreign affairs relations.
Locsin issued the warning following Roque’s statement that the Julian Felipe Reef is not inside the EEZ, directly contradicting previous statements from the DFA that the reef is within the EEZ and is part of the Kalayaan Island Group.
The reef hogged the headlines recently after about 220 Chinese militia and fishing vessels were monitored swarming in the area, prompting the DFA to file diplomatic protests with China while the military stepped up air and naval patrols in the area.
Julian Felipe reef lies 175 nautical miles from Bataraza, Palawan while the nearest Chinese landmass, Hainan island, is more than 632 nautical miles away.
“This is my last warning. When it comes to foreign affairs the Department of Foreign Affairs has the exclusive remit. I don’t come from diplomacy; I come from a life that settled the hash of a lotta people who talked tough and ended up biting dirt. I don’t talk, I deal,’” Locsin said in a tweet although he did not name Roque.
“There is only one voice on what’s ours: mine. Period. Not even the military has any say. I speak for the President on this subject,” he added.
He stressed that the subject should be left entirely to the DFA “under ME, the only expert on the subject bar none.”
“I’ve known China since 1967. Chito Sta. Romana along with me. Even the military has nothing to do with foreign affairs,” he said, referring to the Philippine ambassador to Beijing.
The DFA also said its “statements on the Julian Felipe Reef issue remain unchanged.”
China has been saying the reef is part of its territory and that the vessels seen in the area are operated by its fishermen seeking shelter from the rough sea weather.
JOKE
A fishermen said he was hurt by President Duterte’s recent pronouncement that he was merely joking when declared during a 2016 presidential debate that he would go to the Spratly Islands on a jet ski and plant the Philippine flag.
In a radio interview, Carlo Montehermozo, who asked Duterte what he can do for the fishermen if elected as President and drew the the jet ski response, said he voted for Duterte in the elections.
Montehormoso, from Pangasinan, was among the many fishermen who were harassed by Chinese vessels while fishing at the Scarborough Shoal. The Chinese gained control of the shoal after a standoff with Philippine vessels in 2012.
Montehermoso said he and his fellow fishermen were expecting Duterte to make true his statement.
“Pero ang alam ko noon, papunta pa lang siya salubungin siya dun ng Chinese Coast Guard e. (Back then, I know he will be blocked by the Chinese Coast Guard),” said Montehermoso.
“Kaming mga mangingisda dito masama ang loob namin. Joke joke lang pala yung sinabi niya sa akin noon. (We, the fishermen, were hurt. It turned out what he said to me then was only a joke),” said Montehermoso.
During his televised address last Monday, Duterte said his jet ski remarks in 2016 was a merely “campaign joke” and said those who believed him were stupid.
“Masama ang loob po namin at syempre yun ang sinabi niya. (We’re hurt that he said it,” Montehermoso said referring to the statement of the President last Monday.
“Inaasahan namin yan na gagawin niya. Ba’t sinabi niyang joke joke lang. Kwan din sir, joke joke lang din siya naging presidente natin. (We were expecting he will do that. Why did he say it was only a joke? Its also a joke he became our president),” added Montehermoso.
FAILED PROMISES
At the House, opposition leader Rep. Edcel Lagman (LP, Albay) said protecting the country’s sovereignty is just another one of Duterte’s failed campaign promises like eradicating the drug menace, subduing corruption, solving the traffic gridlock, and mitigating mass poverty.
Lagman told the President that a serious matter such as the Philippine sovereignty “is sacrosanct and should not be denigrated into a “campaign joke.”
“Admitting a hyperbolic joke does not mitigate Duterte’s reneging on his sworn constitutional duty to uphold the country’s sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea,” he said.
Lagman said that while no one believed that the President would physically ride a jet ski to plant the Philippine flag in the Spratlys Islands, the electorate clearly understood that candidate Duterte “vowed and committed to protect and enforce Philippine sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea.”
He said the eventual international arbitral decision on July 12, 2016, less than two weeks after President Duterte’s assumption of the presidency, “has actualized the symbolism of Duterte’s joke.”
“However, Duterte failed and refused to pursue and enforce the adjudication confirming Philippine ownership of the vital resources and vast territories in the West Philippine Sea against China’s spurious claims and aggression,” he said.
Rep. Manuel Cabochan (PL Magdalo) said Duterte clearly betrayed the people’s trust when he said that all those who believed in his campaign promise were “stupid.”
“The Filipino people are not stupid. The 16 million who voted for Duterte were deceived big time. Duterte intentionally lied to the people. He betrayed their trust,” said the lawmaker, a former naval officer.
Cabochan said Duterte fooled the 16 million people who trusted in him “so please do not insult them by calling them stupid.”
“Magaling lang manloko ng tao si Duterte. Nahihirapan na nga ang taumbayan, niloko na, kukutyain pa. Sobra na. (Duterte is just too good in fooling the people. The People are suffering, they were taken for a ride and now they’re being insulted. This is too much),” he said.
Sen. Francis Pangilinan said he is wondering if Roque is getting his salary from China.
He also said the conflicting statements of Locsin and Roque about the Julian Felipe Reef only show no one in the government is in charge.
He added the differing positions on the country’s claims on the WPS might work in favor of China in future.
“China lang ang tuwang-tuwa at kumakain ng popcorn ‘ika nga habang pinapanood ang ganitong palakad ng executive department ng gobyerno (China must be enjoying while watching how the executive branch runs the government),” he added.
Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, Senate foreign relations committee chair, said the executive department must regroup and come up with a common position on the country’s claims on the WPS.
“The entire exec branch should follow a script, written by the DFA. Then choose talking heads carefully and limit them. Then form an elite team which will educate all of us about the details of the WPS issues,” Pimentel said in a tweet. — With Ashzel Hachero, Victor Reyes, Wendell Vigilia and Raymond Africa
