The Philippines warned Beijing it would face a barrage of diplomatic protests if Chinese vessels believed to be part of a “maritime militia” do not leave disputed South China Sea areas, escalating the spat between the two nations.
“For every day of delay, the Republic of the Philippines will lodge a diplomatic protest,” the Department of Foreign Affairs said in a news statement issued on Monday. It also repeated its call for the Chinese vessels to immediately withdraw from Whitsun Reef, referred to by the Philippines as Julian Felipe Reef, which Manila maintained is part of the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
The presence of China’s vessels near the reef, shows Beijing’s intent to occupy more disputed areas, Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said in a separate news statement issued on Sunday.
China has “done this before” in other contested areas like Scarborough Shoal and is “brazenly violating Philippine sovereignty,” Lorenzana said. He was reacting to a statement from China’s embassy in Manila, which on Saturday described waters around the Julian Felipe Reef—where hundreds of Chinese vessels were spotted early last month—as “traditional fishing grounds” and “part of China’s Nansha Islands.”
The embassy’s statement “contained blatant falsehoods,” the Philippine Foreign Affairs department (DFA) said, citing its 2016 international arbitration victory against Beijing. The agency also reminded Chinese embassy officials that they are guests who must respect Philippine officials.
The remarks from the Defense and Foreign Affairs departments signal a tougher stance from the Philippine government, which had initially issued a formal diplomatic protest to China, saying the ships raised concerns on overfishing and safety of navigation. In a separate statement on Saturday, Lorenzana also refuted China’s earlier response that those vessels were sheltering from the wind, saying the weather in the area has been good.
“Oddly, if it is a strategy and not idiocy then swarming accomplishes nothing; they were doing this in consonance with claim of traditional fishing. Chinese were doing this in 1s, 2s and 3s. Coming and going fish-ing makes no claim of possession per se…”—Teddy Locsin Jr. (@teddy-boylocsin) April 4, 2021 Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro “Teddyboy” Locsin Jr. separately said on Sunday that he is “considering a demarche” following the Chinese Embassy’s claim that Julian Felipe Reef is part of China’s territory. He also said on Twitter that “swarming accomplishes nothing.”
The DFA added that while the Chinese ambassador is expected to assert his country’s claims, “ . . . It behooves us to reaffirm our counterclaim. His is based on alleged tradition; ours is grounded firmly in law—UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) & Arbitral Award for two. There is a principle: TRADITION YIELDS TO LAW.”
UNCLOS, DFA maintained, “superseded any historic rights, or other sovereign rights or jurisdiction, in excess of the limits imposed therein.”
The DFA said both the Philippines and China are parties to UNCLOS and that the award on July 12, 2016 in the South China Sea Arbitration “are clearly the only norm applicable to this situation.”
The Philippines, under President Duterte, has in recent years been building friendly ties with China while keeping its alliance with the US.
The Biden administration in late March expressed concerns over the presence of Chinese fishing vessels near the disputed reef, saying Beijing uses “maritime militia to intimidate, provoke and threaten other nations.”
Image credits: Bloomberg
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