SENATE majority leader Joel Villanueva yesterday said he believes that the supposed “gentleman’s agreement” between former President Rodrigo Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jinping is part of China’s propaganda meant to divide the Filipino people.
“I really believe so that this is plain propaganda by the Chinese government. Let’s not fall into a trap… Are they naí¯ve? Somehow they are playing dumb. There’s no document that says that it is implementable,” Villanueva said at the Kapihan sa Senado media forum.
“It is just plain and simple propaganda of the Chinese government… Yung ambassador nila may sinasabi na naman and it is not the first time we caught him lying. Kaya walang duda it is part of their strategy. But we are somehow falling into the trap. Ang daming nagsasalita, ang daming naging expert bigla (It is plain and simple a propaganda of the Chinese government. Their ambassador is now saying another thing and it is not the first time that we caught him lying. That’s why there is no doubt it is part of their strategy. But we are somehow falling into the trap. Many are talking, many have become instant experts),” he added.
Villanueva did not identify who he was referring to, but it was former Palace spokesman Harry Roque who earlier said that Duterte entered into an agreement with China to maintain the status quo in the entire West Philippine Sea.
This, however, was debunked by former presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo, who said that Duterte did not enter into any gentleman’s agreement with China.
Duterte himself has denied that he made such an agreement with China.
He said, though, that when he met with Xi, they agreed on maintaining a status quo in the WPS, where armed patrols will not be seen moving in the territory to avoid tension and war.
Villanueva lamented that some lawmakers are “parroting the propaganda” of China with regard to its claims on the WPS. He did not elaborate.
“That’s why I am humbly appealing whoever they are, who you are or kung sinuman ‘yung nagsasalita, pause muna, think about how we can be united. Dapat may common denominator tayo na no one will question our EEZ at mag-agree sila sa arbitral ruling. I don’t believe na kulang tayo sa pool of experts in addressing this particular issue. Importante magkaisa tayo. Engage natin ang taumbayan what EEZ means and we can all agree on that (That’s why I am humbly appealing whoever they are, whoever are talking, pause for a while, think about how we can be united. We must have a common denominator that no one can question our EEZ, and that we all must agree on the arbitral ruling. I don’t believe that we lack a pool of experts in addressing this particular issue. What matters most is that we unite. Let us engaged the people on what EEZ means and we can all agree on that),” he said.
Villanueva said China has been spreading false information on the removal of the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal and is cementing its claims on the WPS by bullying Philippine vessels with the country’s EEZ.
These aggressive acts, he said, leaves the Philippines with no choice but to seek assistance from its foreign allies.
In line with this, Villanueva urged the government to come up with a “master plan” that would define the steps that the Philippines will take in case of unforeseen events related to the matter.
“More than anything ‘yung lacking na nakita ko is a master plan on how we would handle everything. This is more than a foreign policy as a nation on what we would want to accomplish (More than anything, the lack of a master plan is what I have seen. This will define how we would handle everything. This is more than a foreign policy as a nation on what we would want to accomplish),” he said.
The senator said the Senate will tackle in an all-senators caucus when regular sessions resume on April 29 the resolution filed by Senate deputy minority leader Risa Hontiveros, calling for an investigation on the supposed agreement with China, noting that several senators have raised concerns over the agreement.
He said Duterte can be invited during the hearing but is not obliged to attend out of courtesy to being a former president.
On the other hand, the House of Representatives is poised to investigate Duterte’s secret agreement with Chinese President Xi Jinping that the Philippines will refrain from repairing the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal in the WPS, House Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe said.
Dalipe said the House will act on the request of Zambales Rep. Jeffrey Konghun to probe the alleged agreement.
The former President is being accused of compromising the integrity of the Philippines’ assertion of its rights and sovereignty in the WPS in the face of China’s incursions.
“In response to the request of our colleagues led by Assistant Majority Leader Jay Khonghun, the House of Representatives will consider the call to probe the supposed gentleman’s agreement when Congress resumes its regular sessions next week,” he said. “Protecting our national territory and marine resources are of utmost importance.”
Dalipe said the inquiry is aimed at guaranteeing transparency and protecting national interest.
The military yesterday said 55 Chinese vessels have been monitored at Scarborough Shoal and at several Philippine-occupied features in the West Philippine Sea on Monday.
CHINESE VESSELS
“Our own monitoring gave us a total of 55 various Chinese vessels monitored,” said Commodore Roy Vincent Trinidad, the Philippine Navy’s spokesman for the West Philippine Sea, in a press briefing at Camp Aguinaldo.
Trinidad said these vessels are the Chinese Navy, Chinese Coast Guard and Chinese maritime militia.
“Their activities have been varied. Some of them would be lying to or stationary, others would be moving, doing patrols,” said Trinidad.
However, Trinidad said they have not monitored any aggressive actions from these Chinese vessels.
Data provided by Trinidad showed two Chinese Coast Guard vessels and 24 Chinese maritime militia vessels were sighted at Bajo de Masinloc, or Scarborough Shoal, as of 4:30 p.m last Monday.
At Ayungin Shoal, there was one China Coast Guard vessel and five Chinese maritime militia vessels sighted last Monday, while at Pag-asa Island, a Chinese Coast Guard vessel and 19 Chinese maritime militia vessel were monitored.
At Panata Island, a Chinese Navy vessel was sighted, while a Chinese Navy vessel was monitored at Lawak Island.
There was no Chinese presence monitored at the five other features occupied by the Philippines, namely Parola, Likas, Kota and Patag islands and Rizal Reef.
On reports about the surge of Chinese students in colleges and universities in Cagayan, AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla said this is being looked into.
“The AFP takes the report seriously so we are looking into this,” said Padilla, adding the military is closely working with the PNP in the conduct of investigation.
Cagayan lawmakers have sought House investigation into the surge of Chinese students in the province, where two of the nine Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites are located, particularly in Lal-lo and Sta towns. Ameic
EDCA allows the Americans to pursue at the agreed sites various activities, including training; transit; support and related activities, refueling of aircraft, bunkering of vessels, temporary maintenance of vehicles, vessels, and aircraft; temporary accommodation of personnel, communications, pre-positioning of equipment, supplies, and materiel; and deployment of forces and materiel.
The agreement also permits US to preposition and store defense equipment, supplies and materiel, including, but not limited to, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief equipment, supplies and materiel.
For his part, Trinidad said: “we have to look at it if there is a security component for this. That’s where the AFP comes in.”
‘BLEAK FUTURE’
Meanwhile, Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan yesterday said Southeast Asia and the larger Indo-Pacific region faces a bleak future if the ongoing tension brought by the maritime territorial dispute in the South China Sea erupts into a full-blown conflict.
Balakrishnan is on a two-day visit to Manila.
“The moment you have an escalation of tension or collisions or military action In the South China Sea, it will immediately impair and impede trade,” Balakrishnan said after meeting his Filipino counterpart, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo.
Balakrishnan said a conflict in such an important waterway would waste decades of progress and development in the region.
Although his country is not a party to the maritime territorial dispute, Balakrishnan said his government is watching the issue with “great concern.”
He said Singapore strongly believes that respect for the law must prevail to ensure and preserve peace and stability not only in the ASEAN region but also in the larger Indo-Pacific.
“If it is just the law of the jungle, where the powerful do what they will do and the weak must suffer, then the future will be very bleak for Singapore and the Philippines,” Balakrishnan added.
Manalo told the visiting Singaporean official of Manila’s stand on the issue, which he added, is anchored on the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration which junked Beijing’s sweeping claim in the disputed waters.
“I also shared that the Philippines remains committed to peaceful dialogue and diplomacy. We are also committed to making our bilateral mechanisms with other claimant states work,” Manalo added. — With Wendell Vigilia, Victor Reyes and Ashzel Hachero
