THE United States government is ready to help the country secure its Exclusive Economic Zone in the West Philippines Sea (WPS) by removing Chinese vessels swarming in the area, according to Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manual “Babe” Romualdez.
In an online press briefing on Tuesday, Romualdez said this was the position of the US government during his talks with its representatives.
“The United States is obviously waiting for us to call them if we need their assistance in removing or asking the vessels that are parked in our area of responsibility or economic zone [to leave],” Romualdez said.
He said the coordination between the Department of National Defense and the US Pentagon recently led to the deployment of the US aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt near the Julian Felipe Reef, where the Philippine military had spotted over 200 Chinese militia vessels since March 7.
The combined presence of the Philippine and US naval assets led to some of the Chinese ships in the reef to disperse, according to reports.
“We were working round the clock, so to speak, in terms of being able to navigate or making sure that there’s the freedom of the sea and the Code of Conduct that we are pushing,” Romualdez said.
During his public address late Monday, President Duterte said he will only deploy ships to the country’s EEZ if the Chinese vessels start extracting mineral resources there.
Until then, he said he prefers to maintain the status quo, saying the country cannot compel China to leave the disputed territory without bloodshed.
Nevertheless, Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the President made the statement to make it very clear that the country’s friendship with China has limitations.
He said Duterte’s pronouncement is an assurance that he will not allow any further loss of the Philippines’s island territories to China as what happened in the previous administration.
Roque was referring to the Scarborough Shoal, which was occupied by Chinese forces in 2012 during the term of former President Benigno Aquino III, who also filed the Philippine complaint against China that caused a UN arbitral tribunal to dismiss Beijing’s “excessive” claims in the South China Sea in 2016.
Image courtesy of Philippine Coast Guard via AP