BY ASHZEL HACHERO and JOCELYN MONTEMAYOR
PRESIDENT Duterte should blame China for reneging on a US-brokered agreement with the Philippines to pull its vessels out of Panatag or Scarborough Shoal in 2012, instead of former foreign affairs secretary Albert del Rosario.
This was the statement yesterday issued by former ambassador to Washington Jose Cuisia Jr. as the President continued to criticize the past administration, its officials, and the opposition for the loss of control over Scarborough Shoal after a standoff between Philippine and Chinese navy vessels.
“Hindi ko maintindihan kung bakit ang Pangulo natin ang sinisisi ay si Secretary Albert del Rosario, na nawala daw sa atin ang teritoryo. Bakit hindi niya sinisisi ang mga Intsik na niloko tayo na hindi tumupad sa kasunduan? (I can’t understand why the President is blaming Secretary Albert del Rosario, that we supposedly lost our territory. Why doesn’t he blame the Chinese who fooled and us and did not do as agreed on),” he said in an interview with radio DZBB.
Cuisia, who served as ambassador to Washington from 2011 to 2016, also said Duterte should fight for the country’s national interest first and foremost.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the Duterte administration is blaming Del Rosario for the pullout of Philippine troops from Scarborough Shoal because the country has no “control” over actions and decisions China would make.
“Ang importante po, sino ang nagdesisyon na paalisin ang ating Navy noong mga panahon na iyon. Hindi po natin kontrolado kung ano ang gagawin ng Tsino. Ang importante kontrolado natin kung ano ang gagawin ng opisyales ng ating bayan (What is important is who decided to have the Navy ships leave at that time. We cannot control the actions of the Chinese. The important thing is we have control over the actions of the officials of our land),” he said.
Cuisia said it was Washington that suggested the pullout of Philippine vessels from the area to avoid violence, but he said he told the US that China should do the same.
“The US suggestion was for us to withdraw, but I told them I cannot make that recommendation. What I recommended was simultaneous withdrawal,” Cuisia said.
He said the US side then talked to the Chinese ambassador who then agreed to his proposal for a “simultaneous withdrawal” of ships.
The agreement was brokered by then US Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, he said.
He narrated that the Philippines withdrew its ships on June 15 as agreed, but two hours later, he got a call from Del Rosario who said China did not leave the area.
“That is the problem. They [China] did not withdraw,” he said, adding that when he informed Washington of the information and Del Rosario’s call, he was told to give Beijing more time to pull out its vessels. China never did, he said.
On June 16, Cuisia said, Del Rosario again called him to inform that the Chinese has not pulled out its vessels.
“I brought this to all ASEAN ambassadors, and they can all confirm that China agreed to such an agreement,” Cuisia added.
Asked why the Philippine Navy did not return to the area, he said China had deployed more than 70 vessels at that time.
He said prior to the pull-out, the Philippines had eight vessels in the area, including the BRP Gregorio del Pilar, a former Hamilton class cutter acquired by the Aquino administration from the US to boost the capability of the ill-equipped military.
Cuisia said he repeatedly asked Washington to do something but the latter did not do anything, apparently, he added, because it needed China’s help in reaching an agreement with Iran to prevent the latter from achieving nuclear weapons capability.
“When China did not conform to the agreement, what else can you do? The US should have acted with economic sanctions or trade embargo. Ang problema, wala silang ginawa (The problem is they did not do anything),” he said.
Cuisia said this finally prompted the then Aquino administration to sue China before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Netherlands.
In 2016, the arbitral tribunal ruled in favor of Manila and junked Beijing’s massive claim in the South China Sea, including the parts claimed by Manila as the West Philippine Sea, under its so-called nine-dash line theory.
But the arbitral tribunal also ruled that Panatag is a traditional fishing ground not only of Filipinos but also of Chinese and Vietnamese fishermen.
Chinese vessels in the area have been preventing Filipinos from fishing and harassing Coast Guard patrols.
Duterte though downplayed the historic win and even said he is temporarily shelving it in favor of more Chinese investments and aid. He also said the ruling cannot be implemented as the arbitral tribunal has no enforcement mechanism.
China refused to abide by the ruling and insisted on bilateral talks to settle the dispute, where experts said its economic and military heft would play against the Philippines and other claimant countries.
Cuisia, echoing statements of retired Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, said Duterte’s statements on the issue show a clear betrayal of the national interest.
“This administration has squandered it away. That is a national tragedy,” he added.
WRONG CALL
Roque said officials of the former administration may have made the wrong call when they trusted the US. He said Duterte should not be blamed for the incident because he was not the president then.
“Ang sinasabi ni Presidente, kaya nga itigil ninyo ang pula ninyo na ang Presidente Duterte ang siyang namimigay ng teritoryo, dahil sa kaniyang administrasyon ni isang inch ng teritoryo wala pong nawala (What the President is saying stop criticizing President Duterte and saying that he gave away a territory of the Philippines because not a single inch of the country’s territory has been lost under the present administration),” Roque said.
Roque also said the Philippines was never in possession of Julian Felipe Reef, where at least 220 Chinese ships were monitored swarming in March, despite the area being part of the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
“All we’re saying is we were never in possession of that area and we’re making a big thing out of the fact that that area in the first place was never under our possession,” he said adding that the detractors of the government have been making a big issue up the Julian Felipe incursion.
He said that while the Julian Felipe is under the Philippine EEZ, it is China and Vietnam that have been insisting its claims on the area.
Roque said Julian Felipe Reef, by virtue of a Presidential Decree issued by President Ferdinand Marcos, has been declared a part of the Kalayaan Group of Islands.
“The basis of our claim is that while Julian Felipe Reef is indeed within our 200 nautical miles of EEZ, it nonetheless forms part of the territorial sea generated by two high tide elevations (HTEs) currently occupied by China (Mckennan) and Vietnam (Sin Cowe). Per the 2016 SCS Arbitral Award, these HTEs generate a territorial sea, which is prior to an EEZ under the UNCLOS. Felipe Reef, together with the two HTEs that generated the territorial sea, has never been in actual physical possession of the Philippines, albeit made part of the province of Palawan through PD 1596 (1978),” he added.
