THE Philippines and Vietnam yesterday signed maritime agreements to manage conflicts and incidents in the South China Sea and to boost the capabilities of each nation’s coast guard.
President Marcos Jr, who is on an state visit to Vietnam, said the “South China Sea remains to be a point of contention” in the region.
The Philippines and Vietnam have overlapping claims in the South China Sea (SCS), together with Brunei, Malaysia, and Taiwan. China claims almost the entire SCS.
The memorandum of understanding on “Incident and Management in the South China Sea,” and the memorandum of understanding between the Philippine Coast Guard and the Vietnam Coast Guard on Maritime Cooperation were signed yesterday.
“I hope that we can seriously implement this agreement as quickly as we can,” the President said in his speech during a meeting with Vietnam Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in Hanoi.
Vietnam expressed interest in pursuing a “Joint Submission on the Extended Continental Shelf” before the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf.
Marcos said the Philippines is willing to work with Vietnam for a joint submission “at the appropriate time.”
The President and Vietnam President Vo Van Thuong witnessed the signing and exchange of agreements between the two countries.
“Vietnam remains the sole strategic partner of the Philippines in the ASEAN region, and I am hopeful that this meeting will provide fresh opportunities to reinforce our bilateral relations with the aim of fostering peace and prosperity between our two countries and in the region,” Marcos said.
The President discussed with the Prime Minister China’s harassment of Philippine fishermen and vessels in the West Philippine Sea in the SCS. He said this happened despite his and Chinese President Xi Jinping’s agreement the two countries should work to enhance comprehensive strategic cooperation.
“We continue to see the undertaking of unilateral and illegal actions that violate our sovereignty, our sovereign rights, and jurisdiction, and exacerbate tensions in the South China Sea,” he said.
The President said the Philippines’ position on the South China Sea remains consistent, clear and firm as it is anchored in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
“We are firm in defending our sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction against these Chinese provocations. But at the same time, we are also seeking to address these issues with China and all other partners through peaceful dialogue and consultations as two equal sovereign states,” Marcos said.
For his part, the Prime Minister expressed hope that countries claiming the South China Sea in whole or in part “should work on an effective and substantive COC [code of conduct] and make meaningful contributions to an effective and substantive” efforts that are compliant with international laws, particularly the 1982 UNCLOS.
CHINESE WARSHIPS
Up to 25 Chinese Navy ships and 15 Chinese Coast Guard vessels are operating in the West Philippine Sea in the South China Sea, a senior military official said yesterday.
Commodore Roy Vincent Trinidad, newly-designated Navy spokesman for the West Philippine Sea (WPS), also said there are around 200 Chinese maritime militia vessels in the contested area.
“At any one time, somewhere from 15 to 25 warships,” Trinidad told a press briefing on the number of Chinese Navy ships in the West Philippine Sea.
“We have more maritime militia. As of the last count, I would say around 200. And for the Chinese Coast Guard I think another 10 to 15,” added Trinidad, who is also the deputy commander of the Philippine Fleet – a major command under the Philippine Navy.
Trinidad said the military noticed an escalation in the number of Chinese navy and coast guard vessels in the West Philippine Sea in the past eight to 10 years.
Nevertheless, Trinidad said the increase in Chinese deployment is “not alarming, it’s normal.”
“It’s nothing alarming, it’s a normal deployment,” said Trinidad, adding Philippines has its own deployment of vessels in the area.
Trinidad declined to give figures but said, “We have sufficient number of ships from the Philippine Navy and the Philippine Coast Guard and other players in the maritime domain, the exact number of which I cannot divulge.”
Trinidad said China has become “more aggressive” in the West Philippine in the 2000s “and that has carried on until now.”
Chinese vessels have harassed Philippine military resupply missions at Ayungin Shoal, one of the nine features occupied by Philippines in the West Philippine Sea, in the past months.
Trinidad said aggressive actions of China “are not within the bounds of international law and not within what UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) would expect of a responsible player in the maritime domain.”
“We will expect that this will continue, harassments, laser pointing probably, cutting across the bow, water cannon,” said Trinidad.
He said it is up to the Armed Forces to adjust to adjust these “challenges” they encounter, specifically in resupplying its troops at Ayungin Shoal and other features that they are occupying.
As to why China has turned more aggressive, Trinidad said: “I would not like to assume why they are that aggressive but the record would tell us that they have been performing actions not expected of a responsible maritime player.”
On China’s opposition of planned improvement of Philippine military facilities in the West Philippine Sea, Trinidad said: “We do not gauge our actions to protect our territory on the actions of another country.”
“It is our constitutional mandate to secure our territory, protect the sovereignty and to look after the welfare of the Filipinos… We remain steadfast in our commitment in the West Philippine Sea,” he added.
Trinidad was introduced by the Armed Forces to members of the media as Navy’s new spokesman for the West Philippine Sea.
Trinidad said direction of the Armed Forces is now “shifting from internal defense to external defense.”
“So we deemed it appropriate and right that there will be a Navy spokesperson (for the West Philippine Sea) to provide further inputs or clarifications to the broad efforts of the Armed Forces,” said Trinidad. — With Victor Reyes
