Armed Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana on Monday reported that a Chinese maritime flotilla has remained in Julian Felipe Reef, more than two weeks after the militia boats were spotted in the contested area by the Philippine Coast Guard.
“They are still there, and we are counting [the ships] properly,” said Sobejana, adding the military will officially issue its “take” on the Chinese ship’s presence in the country’s maritime territory, which Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana branded earlier as a “clear provocative action of militarizing the area.”
“We view with grave concern the presence of 220 Chinese militia boats in the Julian Felipe Reef [Union Reef] in the West Philippine Sea [WPS]. This is a clear provocative action of militarizing the area. These are territories well within Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone [EEZ] and Continental Shelf where Filipinos have the sole right to resources under international law and the 2016 arbitral ruling,” Lorenzana said in a news statement issued on Sunday night.
“We call on the Chinese to stop this incursion and immediately recall these boats violating our maritime rights and encroaching into our sovereign territory. We are committed to uphold our sovereign rights over the WPS,” the defense chief added.
‘Diplomatic protest fired’
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin tweeted late Sunday the Philippines has filed a diplomatic protest over the Chinese presence.
“Diplomatic protest fired off tonight; can’t wait for first light,” Locsin tweeted.
“I got the coordinates, so to speak. And relayed to my legal artillery, ‘Fire at will.’ Shell should be flying at first light. I don’t usually announce maneuvers but it seems everybody is baring his chest,” he added, admitting that the diplomatic protest was endorsed by National Security Adviser Retired General Hermogenes Esperon Jr.
“I was in touch with the Secretary of National Defense but on another matter. The National Security Adviser, however, notified me of this particular situation,” Locsin said.
The country’s top envoy shot down the suggestion by a netizen to bring in a third-party mediator in the hope of convincing China to stop its aggressive behavior in the contested waters.
“You bet, bring in mediators it will be when we lost our reef: a third party saying, Stand down, both sides did; withdraw, we did, the other side did not; and all the third party said was, Oh, well, such is life. The strong do what they want, the weak suffer as they must. Thucydides.”
Locsin was referring to the Scarborough Shoal standoff between the Philippines and Chinese fishermen caught illegally fishing in the shoal in 2012. The United States, as third-party mediator, reportedly told the Philippines to withdraw at the same time as the Chinese. When the Philippines left the shoal, the Chinese remained and had remained in control of the shoal since then.
At the same time, Locsin toned down his statement after being told that the ships look like dredgers. “Wait, this might be dredgers. Precision of fact and law is the only weapon of the weak,” he added.
The three-time Makati congressman agreed to a tweet, which said Congress should “look into the intelligence fund of the AFP [Armed Forces of the Philippines], since it appears they are not up to par knowing the latest developments in the WPS.”
Sobejana said the military is properly running through the numbers of the Chinese militia ships moored at the reef, where from the nearby Pagasa Island, at least eight Chinese fishing vessels were also seen as of Tuesday, according to Esperon.
The Julian Felipe Reef is located about 175 nautical miles from Bataraza, Palawan, which is well within the country’s EEZ.
The US military has declared that maritime militias and their ships in the WPS are considered as “targets” should a shooting war erupt between American and Chinese forces.
Sobejana’s statement on the presence of the Chinese vessels was issued following an aerial patrol that he ordered and carried out by a fixed-wing aircraft.
“The patrol mission was completed at around 11:30 [a.m.] today [Tuesday]. The report is now being prepared by Com, WESCOM [commander, Western Command] to be submitted to AFP Chief, and the NTF-WPS [National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea] through the DND [Department of National Defense],” military spokesman Major Gen. Edgard Arevalo said in a separate news statement.
Following the reported presence of Chinese militias in the reef, Lorenzana said they are coordinating with the NTF-WPS and the Department of Foreign Affairs for appropriate action “in the context of protecting the welfare of our Filipino fishermen, our marine resources, and maintaining peace and stability in the West Philippine Sea.”
P800-billion ‘reparation’
Opposition Sen. Risa Hontiveros on Monday joined mounting protests against the presence of Chinese militia vessels brazenly intruding into the WPS territory and affirmed her support for the filing of a formal diplomatic protest, warning that such a “severe provocation” is only likely to escalate tension in the region.
The lawmaker lamented that such a sneaky maneuver involving such a number of Chinese maritime militia vessels spotted by the Coast Guard in the WPS calls for a strong diplomatic protest against China.
“While we are scrambling to contain rising Covid cases amid the contagion in the country, China does with impunity intruding in our territory,” the senator said, adding: “Habang nagkakandarapa pa tayo sa pagtaas ng mga kaso ng Covid-19 sa bansa, ang Tsina naman walang pakundangan ang pagsulong sa ating karagatan.”
Hontiveros asserted that “not aggravating the tensions in our seas is the absolute least China could have done in the middle of a global pandemic. Respeto nalang sana, hindi pa maipakita,” she added.
The senator, who has been vocal about China’s incursions in the WPS, deplored that “the presence of the Chinese vessels in Philippine territory does not build peace or stability in the region.”
She suggested that as the diplomatic protest takes its course in this issue, the Duterte administration “should also study more tangible ways to make China pay.”
Hontiveros also reminded the environmental damage and the natural resources that could be further lost due to the presence of the vessels in Julian Felipe Reef, which is within the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf.
“We have exclusive rights over the resources—fish, oil, and natural gas in Julian Felipe Reef. Atin lang dapat iyan pero pilit na naman nang-aagaw ang Tsina ng mga bagay na hindi kanila. Nakakagalit. It’s maddening how China continues to snatch away our nation’s wealth, while we’re in the depths of an economic crisis,” the lawmaker bemoaned.
Hontiveros reminded earlier that China, in fact, “owes Filipinos over P800 billion in marine damage and losses due to its adventurism in the WPS,” recalling that last April 2020, she filed Senate Resolution 369 demanding that China pay P200 billion worth of reparations, which could be used in the country’s fight against Covid-19.
She surmised that “China really has no plans of recognizing and respecting the 2016 Hague ruling that favors our country. Hindi na nakakatuwa ang patuloy na panggagahasa ng ating likas-yaman. Mag-ipon na ang Tsina kasi magbabayad sila,” the senator asserted.
‘Just fishing vessels’
The Chinese embassy denied allegations that Chinese militia vessels took refuge in Julian Felipe Reef (Whitsun Reef), saying “recently, some Chinese fishing vessels take shelter near Niu’u Ejao due to rough sea conditions.
“The Chinese Embassy has taken note of the recent statement and remarks of the Philippine side on the presence of alleged Chinese Maritime Militia Vessels at Niu’u eJao and said “Niu’u eJao is part of China’s Nansha Quandao. Chinese vessels have been fishing in its adjacent waters for many year.”
Huang said it has been normal practice for Chinese fishing vessels to take shelter under such circumstances.
“There is no Chinese Maritime Militia as alleged,” Huang added, saying “Any speculation in such helps nothing but causes unnecessary irritation.”
“It is hoped that the situation could be handled in an objective and rational manger,” Huang concluded.
It was the Philippine Coast Guard that alerted The National Task Force on the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) bout the presence of 220 Chinese vessels last March 7, 2021.
Image credits: Philippine Coast Guard/National Task Force-West Philippine Sea via AP