THE Philippine Navy yesterday downplayed the reported increase in the number of Chinese maritime vessels at a reef in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) in the South China Sea.
Commodore Roy Vincent Trinidad, Navy spokesman for the WPS, noted that Chinese presence in the area has been constant, although the number of vessels has been changing.
He urged the public to focus on the main issue, which he said is Chinese encroachment into the Philippines’ 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ), instead of listening to China’s narratives.
“They are doing a lot of illegal activities there and they are telling a different story… Who started all these, who is out of place, who entered our exclusive economic zone? With these, they already lost their case,” Trinidad said in a radio interview.
American maritime law expert Ray Powell reported on Sunday that there were 26 Chinese maritime militia vessels at Iroquois Reef or Rozul Reef as of June 2, from just seven on April 22.
“This marks a nearly fourfold increase in China’s maritime militia swarm at Iroquois Reef, which numbered only seven ‘rafted’ vessels as of 22 April,” Powell said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
Trinidad, in the radio interview, said the military establishment has been monitoring the presence of Chinese vessels, which he called “agents of aggression” in the West Philippine Sea.
“We’re not surprised about it; that’s nothing new,” he said. “We know that they are there; it’s only their number that’s changing.”
Trinidad said these Chinese maritime militia vessels are on “nest formation,” or anchored near each other.
Many of China’s “illegal, coercive, aggressive, and deceptive” activities in the past months occurred near the Philippine-occupied Ayungin Shoal.
Troops at the shoal are staying at the rusting BRP Sierra Madre, a Navy ship that was grounded at the shoal in 1999 to serve as a military outpost.
Trinidad stressed that Ayungin Shoal is well within the country’s EEZ, and that the BRP Sierra Madre is a commissioned Navy vessel.
“Number three, China’s presence is unauthorized. It’s illegal based on international law.
Number four, their actions which we call ICAD — illegal, coercive, aggressive, (and) deceptive — won’t happen if they are not there,” said Trinidad.
“So we have to bring back these discussions so the people will understand who started all these,” said Trinidad, adding that it is China that started the problem.
Trinidad also noted that the 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration that invalidated China’s excessive claim in the South China Sea. The decision also recognized the rights of Philippines to its EEZ.
“This means they have no right to impose whatever rules or regulations inside our EEZ,” said Trinidad.
RESOLUTION
Rep. Erwin Tulfo (PL, ACT-CIS) filed a resolution urging the government, through the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), to sponsor a resolution before the United Nations General Assembly calling on China to stop its unlawful actions in the West Philippine Sea.
In House Resolution No. 1766, Tulfo cited the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which awarded victory to the Philippines, debunking China’s claims.
“The landmark decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in Case No. 2013-19, known as Republic of the Philippines vs. People’s Republic of China, conclusively invalidated the Chinese government’s expansive claims under the so-called ‘nine-dash line,’ declaring such to be incompatible with the provisions of UNCLOS, thus upholding the Philippines’ sovereign rights over its EEZ and continental shelf in the WPS,” Tulfo said in the resolution.
He said one of the diplomatic avenues available to the Philippines is to bring the issue before the UN, “seeking its intervention to uphold and enforce the 2016 arbitral ruling, thereby ensuring that international law prevails at all times.”
He said the UN, through its resolutions, “can significantly influence international norms and policies, providing a robust platform for the Philippines to assert its maritime rights and seek global support against unlawful actions by any state, thereby reinforcing the importance of the rule of law in resolving such disputes.”
Tulfo pointed out that despite losing the arbitration case, China has “steadfastly refused to acknowledge and comply with the arbitration award, persisting in its increasingly unlawful actions in the WPS, including the harassment of Philippine vessels and construction of artificial islands equipped with military installations, airstrips, and other strategic infrastructure within Philippine waters.”
“This year alone, aggressive maneuvers and water cannon attacks by Chinese vessels against the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and Filipino fisherfolk underscore China’s blatant disregard for international law and the legal maritime rights of the Philippines, thereby diminishing our territorial integrity and compromising regional stability and security,” the lawmaker said.
Tulfo also slammed China’s promulgation of the “Regulations on Administrative Law Enforcement Procedures for Coast Guard Agencies,” which authorizes its Coast Guard to detain foreign nationals suspected of ‘illegal entry’ into its waters for up to 60 days without trial beginning June 15, saying “this further exacerbates the already volatile situation and poses a direct challenge to well-settled international maritime laws and principles.”
Tulfo also noted that his resolution is also in line with President Marcos Jr.’s earlier statement on the Philippines’ unwavering commitment to resolving disputes through peaceful means, emphasizing the importance of dialogue and diplomacy in addressing complex regional issues.
“In pursuit of the stance of the President before the international community, it is thus imperative for the Philippine Government, through the DFA, to assert its rights over the WPS and intensify diplomatic efforts to obtain international support against China’s unlawful acts,” Tulfo said. — With Wendell Vigilia
