Answers sought from Duterte govt execs
PRESIDENT Marcos Jr. yesterday said he was “horrified” by the idea that a supposed secret agreement may have been forged by the Duterte administration with China, which he said could compromise the Philippines’ position in the West Philippine Sea.
He said he is seeking clarification on the issue. “We still haven’t got a straight answer,” he said.
The President said there are no records of the supposed “gentleman’s agreement” between former President Rodrigo Duterte and China, which was disclosed by a former presidential spokesman last month. Marcos said he and his administration had not been briefed either about the arrangement.
Under the supposed deal, the Philippines agreed not to bring construction materials to repair the rusting Navy warship BRP Sierra Madre which was deliberately grounded in 1999 at the Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea in the South China Sea. The ship serves as a military outpost. Ayungin is within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, overlapping with territorial claims of the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei. It refuses to abide by a 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague that said China’s claims to the South China Sea had no legal basis.
The President, in an interview at an event in San Juan City, Marcos said his government is still seeking clarification from officials of the Duterte administration and will likewise ask Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian about the supposed agreement.
“Kung ang sinasabi sa agreement na iyan na kailangan tayong mag-permiso sa ibang bansa para gumalaw sa ating sariling teritoryo, ay mahirap sigurong sundan iyang ganiyang klaseng agreement. I am horrified by the idea that we have compromised, through a secret agreement, the territory, the sovereignty and sovereign rights of the Philippines. That is something, we still have to clear it up (If that agreement says that we must get permission from another country to move in our own territory, I think it will be difficult to follow that kind of agreement. I am horrified by the idea that we have compromised, through a secret agreement, the territory, the sovereignty and sovereign rights of the Philippines. That is something, we still have to clear it up),” he said.
The President said he has not talked with the former president Duterte directly about the issue.
“We’re talking to his former officials, maybe not the (former) president himself, but always former officials. Tinatanong namin, ano ba ‘yan. Ipaliwanag niyo naman sa amin para alam namin ‘yung ginagawa namin. (We’ve been asking, what is that deal? Could you explain it to use so we’ll know what we’re doing) And we still haven’t gotten a straight answer,” he said.
Marcos said he would also talk with Huang when he returns from the United States and the latter returns from Beijing.
The President yesterday flew to the United States to attend the trilateral summit with the US and Japan and will be back in Manila on April 14.
WHY THE SECRECY?
Marcos said he wants to know if the agreement is true, who forged the deal, what was agreed on, and why it was done in secret.
He also wants to know if the agreement was official or personal.
“Ano ba ito? Dahil wala kaming record, kahit saan ka tumingin, walang record. So sekretong ginawa ito. Bakit nila ginawa? Kung gagawin man nila dapat, bakit pa nila ginawang sekreto? Nakakapagtaka nga eh kaya it’s not a good situation (What is this? We have no record of it, regardless of where you look, there is no record. So this was made secretly. Why did they do that? If they did it, why make it a secret? It is puzzling and it’s not a good situation),” he added.
Opposition leader Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman backed the President’s statement that Duterte’s “gentleman’s agreement” with China is a grave mistake which compromises Philippine sovereignty.
“This has no binding effect,” said Lagman. “There can be no ‘gentlemen’s agreement’ with a chronic aggressor like China in the West Philippine Sea.”
Duterte’s former spokesman, Harry Roque, last month said the former president had a verbal “gentleman’s agreement” with China not to put up structures at the West Philippine Sea and not to repair the BRP Sierra Madre.
But Duterte’s chief presidential legal counsel, Salvador Panelo, has denied any gentleman’s agreement between Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Panelo said he was present when Duterte made a state visit to China and a meeting with Xi.
“FPRRD (Duterte) has never, and would never enter into any agreement that is against our national interest, sovereignty and territorial integrity. PBBM (Marcos) has been misinformed or has been misled by the alleged non-existent ‘gentleman’s agreement.’ People should be wary of spreaders of false news and bogus narratives,” he said.
He added that former Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, former Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and former Interior Secretary Eduardo Año have all made separate statements that no such agreement, whether formal or informal, regarding the West Philippine Sea, Ayungin Shoal or the BRP Sierra Madre, was entered by Duterte.
CHINESE VESSELS
The military reported 48 Chinese vessels, mostly maritime militia, were monitored at Scarborough Shoal and three Philippine-occupied features in the West Philippine Sea on Tuesday.
Armed Forces spokesperson Col. Francel Marideth Padilla said 24 of these vessels were sighted at the vicinity of Scarborough Shoal, also known as Bajo de Masinloc.
China gained control of the shoal after a standoff with government vessels in 2012. Since then, the Chinese have been preventing Filipino fishermen from going inside the shoal’s lagoon to fish.
“The latest as of (5 p.m. Tuesday), at Bajo de Masinloc there are four Chinese Coast Guard vessels and 20 Chinese maritime militia (vessels),” said Padilla.
Told that two Chinese Coast Guard vessels usually operate in the area, she said, “We cannot speculate… but this is report we got from our monitoring.”
Padilla also reported Chinese presence near three of the nine Philippine-occupied features in the West Philippine Sea, including Pag-asa Island where she said one Chinese Navy ship, one Chinese Coast Guard vessel and 14 Chinese maritime vessels were sighted.
Pag-asa Island, about 280 nautical miles northwest of Puerto Princesa City in Palawan, is the largest among the Philippine-held areas in the West Philippine Sea. It serves as the seat of government of Palawan’s Kalayaan town.
At Ayungin Shoal, Padilla said, one Chinese Coast Guard vessel and four Chinese maritime militia vessels were in the area.
At Panata Island, she said, the military monitored three Chinese maritime militia vessels.
There was no Chinese presence near the six other Philippine-occupied features (Parola, Likas, Lawak, Kota and Patag islands and Rizal Reef) on Tuesday, said Padilla.
JOINT DRILLS
The military is open to other foreign armed forces joining multilateral cooperative activities among Philippines, US, Japan and Australia in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) in the future.
“The Philippine Navy welcomes all navies willing to partner with us in developing our capabilities and in promoting stability in the West Philippine Sea,” said Commodore Roy Vincent Trinidad, the Navy’s spokesman for the WPS, when asked if the military is encouraging other countries to join the activity.
Five warships and four aircraft from the four countries and were involved in last Sunday’s first-ever multilateral maritime cooperative activity (MCA) which the Armed Forces said was a demonstration of the participating countries’ “commitment to strengthen regional and international cooperation in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific through interoperability exercises in the maritime domain.”
Two Chinese Navy ships were sighted about six nautical miles from the exercise area but did not interfere with the activity, Armed Forces chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr has said.
The MCA was conducted by the four countries amid continuous harassment by China of Philippine vessels in the WPS, including military resupply missions to the Ayungin Shoal.
“The MCA allowed us to test the operational readiness of our surface Fleet to operate with our ally and partners from planning, to preparation and to execution,” said Trinidad.
Asked if there are already talks for another round of MCA involving the four countries, Trinidad said: “At my level, I have no knowledge.”
MORE PATROLS
On Tuesday, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said more joint patrols among US, Philippines, Japan and Australia can be expected.
Asked for a comment, Trinidad said: “While we do not comment on future operations, we can expect an increase in navy-to-navy at sea engagements.”
“Naval cooperation is an operational approach of the Active Archipelagic Defense Strategy, the naval component of CADC (Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept). This is the Navy’s contribution to a stable international order in the West Philippine Sea,” added Trinidad.
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr announced the implementation of the CADC last January. The CADC, he said, seeks to guarantee Philippine nationals, corporations and those authorized by the Philippine government “ unimpeded and peaceful exploration and exploitation of all natural resources within our exclusive economic zone and other areas where we have jurisdiction.”
Sen. Francis Tolentino said he is in favor of regular joint patrols with Australia, Japan, and the United States to deter China from bullying Philippine vessels.
“Our diplomatic ties with defense allies strengthened. To those saying it will further enrage China, for me, it will promote more regional stability because the joint patrol will contribute to regional security and cooperation,” he said.
Tolentino said the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS) encourages states to cooperate in conserving and managing living resources on the high seas, and to maintain peace, security, and good order in the oceans. — With Victor Reyes, Wendell Vigilia and Raymond Africa
