THE Philippine government has effectively flagged to China issues involving fishermen in Scarborough Shoal, amid critics’ claim that Filipino fishers have been left at the mercy of Chinese authorities, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano asserted Sunday.
In an ambush interview as he presided at the welcome rites for returning OFWs, Cayetano also insisted the Philippines has “lost no territory” so far, despite the claim of experts that the Duterte administration’s conciliatory stance toward Beijing may have allowed the Asian giant to virtually take over huge areas of the Philippine-claimed Kalayaan Island Group.
He also called a “big lie” the claim at the weekend by Magdalo Party-list Rep. Gary Alejano that Duterte had ordered the Armed Forces to stop all patrols in the West Philippine Sea.
Cayetano acknowledged that Filipino fishermen have on occasion raised concern over how Chinese authorities are harassing them in the rich traditional fishing grounds that an international tribunal had said belonged to no one but is well within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone. The tribunal said China’s acts of exerting control over the area, as if it possessed it, was illegal.
The DFA chief said that, while the fishermen have lodged occasional complaints, the Philippine government has resolved these with Chinese authorities, contrary to critics’ claim.
Also at the weekend, Cayetano’s predecessor said President Duterte should tap the help of more experts on the issue of the West Philippine Sea, other than solely relying on his security officials from whom he should also demand a full disclosure on what is going on in the country’s territory.
Duterte needs better briefing – ex-DFA chief
Former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario was responding to the recent statement of the Commander in Chief that he was not aware of the reported harassment by China of a military resupply to Filipino troops guarding Ayungin Shoal.
“Our President may need more help,” said del Rosario, chairman of the local think tank ADR Institute, and who had also served as Philippine Ambassador to the United States.
“There appears to be an urgent need for our President to require a fuller briefing from his people as shown, for instance, by his reactions to developments in South China Sea and, in particular, the West Philippine Sea,” he said.
Del Rosario said the “most recent illustration was the harassment of Philippine troops in Ayungin Shoal, of which the President had no knowledge.”
Magdalo Party-List Rep. Gary Alejano has disclosed that Chinese Navy and Coast Guard vessel challenged a Philippine Navy ship bringing supplies to Filipino troops stationed at the partly submerged BRP Sierra Madre on May 11.
The Sierra Madre serves as the outpost for a small team of Filipino Marines guarding Ayungin Shoal.
According to Alejano, a helicopter from the Chinese Navy ship hovered dangerously close to the Philippine Navy ship LS-507, when it launched a rubber boat to approach the Sierra Madre.
“The [helicopter] was so close that sea water splash entered the rubber boat,” Alejano said.
Despite the harassment, the re-supply was successfully done by the Navy.
Asked about the incident, Duterte claimed he had no knowledge of the harassment, giving rise to questions of whether he had been apprised well by his security officials, including National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. and Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana about the incident.
“It would be dangerous for me to answer questions without really having the slightest idea of what it is all about,” Duterte said.
Del Rosario said the harassment of the Navy resupply team was only among some of the more recent developments in the West Philippine Sea, which is disputed by China, for which Duterte may not have been fully informed by his officials.
“Another example attributed to the absence of a less than full briefing appears to be the loss of effective control of Sandy Cay by the Philippines, which was not given much importance,” he said.
“Our President seemed to dismiss Sandy Cay as merely a sand bar, not worth protesting. The reaction to Sandy Cay was obviously a decision made without the benefit of being provided full information,” he added.
Sandy Cay, while it is part of the country’s territory, had seen the presence of Chinese military and paramilitary ships during the past months.
In fact, China had even attempted to erect markers in that part of the territory, according to an earlier statement of Alejano.
Del Rosario echoed the position of Supreme Court Acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio that once Beijing occupies Sandy Cay, it could also lay claim to the Subi Reef.
“As advised by Acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio, should China acquire sovereignty over Sandy Cay, it could claim Subi Reef as part of the territorial sea of Sandy Cay,” he said.
“This would aid in legitimizing China’s claim over Subi Reef, and would significantly reduce the territorial sea of Pag-asa Island,” he added.
The country’s former top diplomat suggested to Duterte to consider tapping the wisdom and expertise of Carpio on the whole West Philippine Sea issue.
“The expertise of Acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio on the South China Sea is clearly unequalled. Our President may want to consider having his people closely coordinate with the Acting Chief Justice on matters related to the South China Sea,” del Rosario said.
He also prodded the government to protect the ownership ruling that it secured against China over the West Philippine Sea.
“Of utmost primacy is the protection of the hard-earned gains of the Filipino people as handed down by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) Arbitral Tribunal,” del Rosario said.
“In this connection, following the Shangri-la Dialogue just held in Singapore, it is most opportune for the Philippines to commence work on drafting a resolution for adoption by the United Nations General Assembly this year,” he added.
According to him, the intended UN resolution “should request China and the international community to abide by and implement The Hague Arbitral ruling of July 12, 2016.”
Cayetano: grievances addressed
Meanwhile, Cayetano thanked the media for reporting on goings-on in the Scarborough Shoal.
For one, he said, the fishermen virtually admitted that from 2012 to 2016, “they could not enter the area and could not fish there.” That was after Chinese boats blockaded the shoal in summer of 2012, triggering a standoff with the Philippine Navy.
“So the reality is, during President Duterte’s time, [the] provisional fishing agreement was fixed, and our fishermen could get into the area,” he added, speaking partly in Filipino.
In cases of harassment, the government has been moving, he added. For one, “[Undersecretary Ernesto] Abella talked to the Chinese Ambassador the other day. I also talked to the ambassador, as I was with him in an event last night. The Chinese Ambassador assured us that they will apply the law very harshly on violators. We already have an agreement with them, and the fishermen should be free to fish, except in protected areas, because of ecology and environment. Like the lagoon inside Scarborough, which is the spawning ground of fish, or what you see are giant clams. If a Filipino or Chinese or a Vietnamese gets those clams, they will really be apprehended.”
Cayetano quoted the Chinese Ambassador as saying they are reviewing the complaint system. Cayetano added it is “important for us” that the fishermen or any aggrieved party goes directly to DFA to lodge a complaint, “so that we can act on it right away.”
He appealed to the people to help the government resolve the problems right away, so that erroneous accounts do not thrive.
He cited Alejano’s claim that the fishermen’s catch are being routinely seized. “That’s not true. If that were happening large-scale, there’d be a revolution by the fishermen.”
The DFA chief also took Alejano to task for claiming Duterte stopped patrols in the South China Sea. “This is a blatant lie. I don’t know where he’s getting this, I don’t know if he’s a victim of a hoax or he’s the one peddling a hoax just so he gets to be talked about, especially since he’s running for senator.”
The government would welcome suggestions to modernize or expand the patrol ships of the Navy or Coast Guard, but not fake news, he stressed.
Any lie is “a disservice to our people,” Cayetano pointed out. “We are assuring you that we are taking all diplomatic action. Look at the result, not at each step. Why do you do protest? Why do you do diplomatic action? Because you’re after results. This administration is focusing on the results. The former administration simply counted how many protests they had filed not looking at the results. When did we ever lose Scarborough? Do they admit now that we’re making a lot of headway in Scarborough? Our Coast Guard ships are there; so are our fishermen. We’re now talking about protection of the environment. Today, any Filipino fishermen caught in the middle of a storm can shelter in the lagoon, and the Chinese Coast Guard will help them. This did not happen before.”
In the final analysis, Cayetano said, “we assessed it; for this administration, we have a better approach. So far, I say it’s better because it’s producing results. [It’s not true that] we lost any territory.”
He said “the presence of Filipinos there, including some features [like those in] Pag-asa [island] where there are soldiers stationed, that continues. Even the sending of provisions, even sprucing up of the island. As you can see, the runway there is being repaired. The water system too, making it more liveable for our people, both civilians and military.”
With Rene Acosta