‘As the South China Sea question may remain unresolved for a very long time, our government now and in the future should not give an inch of our territory or anounce of our national pride…’
IT seems our problems with the West Philippine Sea, specifically the part of the Philippine exclusive economic zone that is facing China. are far from over, and farther still from finding a long-lasting solution.
According to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), there was “a close distance maneuvering” incident with the Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) vessel last March 2 during a maritime patrol operation.
The CCG’s vessel (3305) moved approximately 21 yards towards BRP Malabrigo (MRRV-4402) in the waters of Bajo de Masinloc (Panatag Shoal) during the incident, the PCG said.
BRP Malabrigo’s maneuvering space was constrained by the CCG vessel’s action in violation of the 1972 International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea. According to the PCG Commandant Admiral Artemio Abu, it was the fourth reported close distance maneuvering incident involving CCG vessels in Bajo de Masinloc.
“The behavior of the involved CCG vessels increased the risk of collision with four of our capital ships,” Abu said.
Abu’s training and professional conduct prompted him to immediately coordinate with the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea and the Department of Foreign Affairs to address this issue “through rules-based and peaceful approaches” instead of having a confrontation with the Chinese.
The action taken by the Philippine government is to file another diplomatic protest over the close-distance maneuvering incident, as confirmed by National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon. As we have competing claims with China in that part of the sea, incidents like this one have become commonplace. Ordinary, too, is the filing of diplomatic protests by the Philippine government, as Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. says we have filed over a hundred such protests.
Nothing has come out of these protests because China maintains that it has sovereign rights over the Panatag Shoal, which it calls Huangyan Dao.
China’s foreign minister Wang Yi said, “Huangyan Dao is China’s inherent territory. China has sovereignty over Huangyan Dao and its adjacent waters as well as sovereign rights and jurisdiction over relevant waters.”
This statement by the foreign minister may well be Locsin’s too, by just replacing the name of the shoal to “Panatag.” As the South China Sea question may remain unresolved for a very long time, our government now and in the future should not give an inch of our territory or an ounce of our national pride, even as we advocate for hastening the drafting and approval of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea.
