SEN. Aquilino Pimentel III yesterday said the Philippines should increase maritime patrols at its 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone to further assert sovereign rights in some areas claimed by China.
This, he said, is on top of diplomatic protests filed by the Department of Foreign Affairs in the wake of the latest harassment by the China Coast Guard of two Philippine supply vessels in Ayungin Shoal.
He said the government should also invest in surface vessels or helicopters which it can send to patrol the country’s EEZ, saying if the country has enough assets, a repeat of the Ayungin Shoal incident may be prevented.
He also said the country’s present and future leaders should issue strong statements against China for claiming parts of the Philippines’ EEZ based on its nine-dash line historical claim.
Pimentel, Senate foreign relations committee chairman, said he has scheduled on December 6 the first inquiry into a proposed law that seeks to identify the country’s maritime zones amid the incursions of China in the West Philippine Sea in the South China Sea.
He said he will invite experts on international law to determine if the proposed Philippine Maritime Zones Act under Senate Bill 2289 is necessary as there is “school of thought” that a law is no longer needed and the country will just instead base its claim on the provisions under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
SB 2289 filed by Senate President Vicente Sotto III aims to identify the country’s maritime zones, archipelagic waters, and territorial zones.
Sen. Panfilo Lacson last week filed Senate Resolution No. 954 condemning China’s continued presence and “hostile acts” within the country’s EEZ. The resolution also called on the government to consistently invoke and protect its sovereign rights in the area.
