THE Armed Forces yesterday dismissed China’s claim that recent exercises the military held with United States and other countries in the West Philippine violate Beijing’s maritime rights and were meant to undermine peace and stability in the area.
AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla, in a radio interview, said the Philippines is not an “expansionist” nation, adding the country’s actions in the area are backed by international laws like the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea that provides coastal states, like the Philippines, exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of 200 nautical miles.
“The arbitral ruling in 2016 has ruled in favor of the Philippines,” she said referring to the Permanent Curt of Arbitration decision that invalidated China’s excessive claim in the South in China Sea and upheld Philippine rights to its EEZ.
“We are not expansionist. We are not violating (the territorial integrity) of another country. We are merely defending our own territory provided under international laws,” said Padilla.
Padilla’s comments came days after the Chinese People’s Liberation Army-Southern Theater Command said Philippines invited other countries to “joint patrols” in the West Philippine Sea to cover up its illegal infringement of China’s maritime rights and its deliberate undermining of peace and stability in the area.
Southern Theater Command spokesman Tian Junli said China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime interests in the South China Sea are indisputable and cannot be violated.
Tian said Southern Theater Command will continue to be on alert and will remain committed to defending China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights.
The Armed Forces recently held a two-day maritime cooperative activity with the United States military in the West Philippine Sea to further improve interoperability. It also held two multilateral maritime cooperative activities (MMCAs) earlier this month, one with the US, Japan and Australia and the other with US and Canada, also in the West Philippine Sea.
Padilla said more countries have expressed their desire to join MMCAs.
“Many countries have a similar goal with Philippines, that is to maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific … It’s (West Philippine Sea) an economic channel so many countries want the Indo-Pacific area to be free and open,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said it continues to shadow a Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) ship, with bow number 5303, off Zambales.
CCG-5303 was some 95 nautical miles off Zambales, said Commodore Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesman for the West Philippine Sea, in a statement on Saturday night.
“The crew aboard the BRP Cabra remains steadfast in their mission to assert the Philippines’ sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea,” he said.
