NATIONAL Security Adviser Eduardo Año yesterday said China’s assertion of its sovereign rights over the Scarborough Shoal, also known as Bajo de Masinloc, in the West Philippine Sea in the South China, lacks basis.
Año, also the chairman of the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea, maintained it is the Philippines that has sovereign rights over the shoal, about 124 nautical miles from Masinloc town in Zambales.
China gained control of the shoal in 2012 following a standoff between Chinese and Philippine government ships. Since then, the Chinese have been preventing Filipino fishermen from fishing inside the shoal’s lagoon.
The Chinese Coast Guard, in a statement on Tuesday, reiterated it has indisputable sovereignty over the shoal and its adjacent waters.
It said Philippine personnel illegally intruded in the area on January 28 and were warned to leave. It said the interaction was “professional and standardized.”
The Chinese Coast Guard said it will always enforce the law in China’s jurisdiction, adding it will safeguard China’s national sovereignty, maritime rights and interests.
Responding to the Chinese statement, Año said the shoal is an integral part of Masinloc, Zambales and is well within the country’s 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.
Año said the Philippines exercises sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the shoal, as well as the waters and continental shelf surrounding it, under the international law.
He said the shoal is an “important fishing ground” for the fishermen of Zambales, Bataan and Pangasinan.
“China’s repeated claims of sovereignty over Bajo de Masinloc has no basis in international law or in fact. International law is clear. China cannot, therefore, lawfully exercise sovereignty over it,” said Año.
Citing the 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling that invalidated China’s excessive claim over nearly the entire South China Sea, Año said the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) superseded China’s “historic rights.”
“Therefore, China cannot claim entitlements in areas of the ‘nine-dashed line,’ now ‘10-dashed line,’ that exceed UNCLOS limits,” he said.
Año said early Spanish maps of the Philippines, including the 1734 Pedro Murillo Velarde Map, showed Bajo de Masinloc as part of the Philippine territory.
“When the Spaniards ceded the Philippines to the US under the 1898 Treaty of Paris, Scarborough (Shoal) was included in the census of islands done by the US government,” said Año.
“This was affirmed under the Treaty of Washington of 1900 where Spain ceded all other islands and places to which it had title or claim of title even if not within the lines drawn by the Treaty of Paris,” said Año.
Since then, Año said, the Philippines “has always exercised jurisdiction over the shoal by setting up light stations and navigational aids, regular visits by the Coast Guard, law enforcement operations, and geodetic surveys.”
“Since the Philippines exercises sovereign rights over Bajo de Masinloc and its surrounding waters under international law, only the Philippines has the authority to exercise maritime law enforcement functions to the exclusion of other countries. No amount of statements or illegal actions by other states can alter these facts,” he added.
ASSAULT DRILLS
The Philippine Navy conducted amphibious assault drills off Puerto Princesa City in Palawan amid increasing Chinese aggression in the West Philippine Sea in the South China Sea.
The Naval Forces West (NFW) yesterday said the training showcased the “readiness and proficiency” of its Marine Amphibious Ready Unit in the conduct of amphibious operations.
The exercise was held last Monday in the vicinity of Rita Island, Barangay Bahile in Puerto Princesa City. It involved two companies from the Marine Battalion Landing Team 9 and landing dock BRP Davao del Sur.
“This dynamic exercise highlights the command’s commitment to maintaining operational readiness and enhancing maritime security capabilities,” the NFW said on its Facebook page.
“Throughout the training exercise, the involved units and personnel demonstrated their proficiency in amphibious assault tactics, beach landings, tactical reconnaissance, and other essential maneuvers,” it added
The NFW said training exercises are meant to “enhance the command’s capability to swiftly respond to a range of maritime security challenges.”
“By conducting realistic and challenging amphibious operations training, the Naval Forces West reinforces its readiness to support Western Command’s security objectives in the joint operational area effectively,” the NFW said.
The NFW is under the operational control of the AFP Western Command which is supervising all military operations in Palawan and in the contested West Philippine Sea.
Chinese vessels have harassed resupply missions at Ayungin Shoal, one of the nine features occupied by the Philippines in the West Philippine Sea, in the past months.
The last Chinese harassment of a Philippine resupply mission was on December 10, involving supply boats Unaizah Mae 1 and M/L Kalayaan and Philippine Coast Guard ships BRP Cabra and BRP Sindangan.
Armed Forces chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr was aboard Unaizah Mae 1 which was subjected to dangerous maneuvers, water cannoning. A Chinese Coast Guard vessel later rammed and damaged the supply boat.
