THE Senate is on track to tackle a formal Resolution strongly condemning China’s latest intrusions in West Philippine Sea fishing grounds well within the country’s exclusive economic zone.
In an interview with DWIZ at the weekend, Senate President Vicente Sotto III confirmed the Resolution, initially signed by 11 senators, is expected to muster unanimous support from members of both the majority and minority blocs when it is tackled on first reading at the resumption of plenary session on May 17.
Relatedly, Sen. Panfilo Lacson sought to de-link the WPS exchanges from the vaccines that were bought from—and partly donated by—Beijing. Lacson reacted to President Duterte’s bid to fuse the two issues last week.
Sotto indicated the Resolution condemning WPS intrusions by China readily mustered support, even as senators indicated an intent to introduce amendments when it is tackled in plenary after the May 17 resumption of sessions.
“With amendments. Some of us support it with amendments, like for example, how we will push back; and also, to state that we fully support the positions of the Department of Foreign Affairs [DFA] and the Department of National Defense [DND],” he said, partly in Filipino.
“That part is fine. But on the use of the word ‘condemning,’ there’s reservation among some of us, and we’re studying that because to some, it seems off to use the word ‘condemning’ on a friend,” he explained in an interview with DWIZ.
The Senate leader acknowledged that they were treading carefully on the wording of the resolution given the fact that “China is a trading partner.”
“If it’s possible to come up with something that’s strong, [we will] but the important thing is to stress support for the positions of DFA and DND; that, we will support. It’s just a matter of picking one’s words carefully,” he added.
The DFA had been filing daily diplomatic protests—as vowed by Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin Jr—against Beijing, for every day that there remain China militia vessels in Julian Felipe Reef or any other part of the Philippine EEZ.
The DFA reported on Thursday that so far 80 diplomatic protests have been filed against China.
For his part, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana had repeatedly told Beijing to pull out its vessels after over 200 such maritime militia boats were spotted at Julian Felipe Reef in early March. He ordered more patrols in the area.
Lorenzana also scoffed at Beijing’s excuse that the boats were fishermen “seeking shelter” from bad weather, noting there were no reports of any weather disturbance during the period the boats were there.
National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon told CNN Philippines last week the actions taken by Locsin and Lorenzana apparently were effective.
Unified stand—Lacson
For his part, Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson said over the weekend top Philippine leaders must come up with a united stand on the West Philippine Sea issue instead of bickering, lest it expose a weakness that China can exploit.
Lacson also stressed that China’s donation of Covid-19 vaccines should not be connected to the issue of Philippine sovereignty and territorial integrity in the West Philippine Sea, as doing so may cause division.
“The sad irony is that instead of coming up with a united front, we —especially our leaders—are bickering on the issue. What we need is a united position. Otherwise, we are just showing our weakness, one that China could exploit,” Lacson, who chairs the Senate committee on national defense, said in a separate radio interview.
“Our stand must start with upholding our sovereignty and territorial integrity. Vaccines have nothing to do with this issue,” he added.
He was reacting to Duterte’s remarks last week that Manila must tread carefully on the WPS issues because China is a “friend,” and pointed to the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccines the Philippines secured. This prompted critics to note that China’s donated vaccines represent a tiny fraction of the total of Sinovac doses secured by Filipinos, with the bulk, worth billions of pesos, paid for by the Philippine government.
Lacson said connecting the vaccine and West Philippine Sea issues will result in petty bickering among Filipinos, with some stressing the benefits of the donated vaccines from China, and others emphasizing the damage by China to our aquatic resources. “Both issues should not be connected,” he said.
In the meantime, the Philippines must continue to enhance its ties with allies including the United States, Japan, Australia and Europe, to maintain a balance of power in the region, Lacson said.
He added the US already indicated it is prepared to back the Philippines as both countries have a Mutual Defense Treaty—but added the Philippines needs to take the initiative.
“The US has indicated it is bound by our Mutual Defense Treaty but it is the Philippines that must make the initiative. The US cannot be more aggressive than we are in the disputed area,” he said.
Read full article on BusinessMirror