Manila to Beijing: PH a ‘sovereign state’
- PH “is an independent and sovereign state” — a fact that must be repeated to Beijing’s face, following its remarks last week that the country’s maritime actions are a “screenplay” by external forces.
- The DFA said: “No creative analogy or play of words will mask the real issue, which is China’s refusal to abide by international law, particularly the 1982 Unclos and the 2016 Arbitral Award,” referring to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Hague arbitral court’s ruling in 2016 affirming the Philippines’ sovereign claim over its adjacent waters.
- Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada also issued a statement in response to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s remarks, which he called “another blatant attempt to undermine our country’s legitimate concerns and distract the public from their persistent illegal incursions and provocations.”
The Philippines pushed back against China on Monday after its top diplomat dismissed last week the tension between the two countries as a “shadow play,” with a “screenplay” for Manila written by external forces.
In a statement on Monday, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said, “China should recognize that the Philippines is an independent and sovereign state whose actions and decisions are driven entirely by national interest and the interests and well-being of the Filipino people.”
The DFA also disputed “the recent remarks of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi characterizing the developments and incidents in the South China Sea as mere theater staged under the direction of other countries.”
“No creative analogy or play of words will mask the real issue, which is China’s refusal to abide by international law, particularly the 1982 Unclos and the 2016 Arbitral Award,” the department said, referring to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Hague arbitral court’s ruling in 2016 affirming the Philippines’ sovereign claim over its adjacent waters.
“We call on countries to be circumspect and to avoid actions and words that only contribute to tensions in the region,” the DFA said, as it also noted the “adverse effects” of Beijing’s actions on Filipino fishermen and other communities confronted by Chinese harassment at sea.
‘Shadow play, chess pieces’
In a press conference on March 7, Wang resorted to various metaphors in articulating China’s view on its maritime tensions with the Philippines.
“For every move on the sea by the Philippines, there is a screenplay written by external forces, the show is livestreamed by Western media, and the plot is invariably to smear China. People are not interested in watching the same performance again and again,” Wang said.
He also quoted “an official from a regional country” as saying that tensions between Beijing and Manila were “like a shadow play”—which Wang said was a “vivid analogy.”
“Infringement and provocation will backfire and those acting as others’ chess pieces are bound to be discarded,” he said.
“The Philippine side should stop misleading the international community, using the South China Sea issue to instigate disputes, and counting on external forces to undermine peace and stability in the South China Sea region,” he added.
The Philippines has embarked on what it calls a transparency initiative to shed light on Beijing’s actions in the South China Sea, particularly the waters close to Manila which it calls the West Philippine Sea.
This initiative includes embedding journalists on maritime patrols and resupply missions. Manila’s approach has resonated with its allies, especially Washington.
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said earlier that “The greatest external threat actually is Chinese aggression, Chinese expansionism and the attempt by China to change the international law through the use of force or acquiescence [and] reshape the world order to one that it controls.”
Manila and its allies will take the necessary measures if Beijing attempts to restrict freedom of flights in the South China Sea or impose an air defense zone, Teodoro also said.
‘Squid tactics’
Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada also issued a statement in response to Wang’s remarks, which he called “another blatant attempt to undermine our country’s legitimate concerns and distract the public from their persistent illegal incursions and provocations.”
Estrada also called on the international community to denounce what he described as Wang’s “baseless assertions” and support the Philippines in defending regional peace, stability and the rule of law.
“Our sovereignty is not a performance, and our resolve is not an act,” the senator said in a statement. “No amount of squid tactics can conceal the fact that China has been, and continues to be, engaged in a pattern of illegal, coercive, aggressive, and deceptive behavior at sea—and most recently, even in the airspace of the Philippines.”
Estrada was referring to a Chinese military helicopter that came as close as 3 meters to an aircraft of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources conducting a patrol last month on Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal.
“We cannot turn a blind eye [to] China’s escalating coercive tactics against our maritime scientists and personnel as well as their illegal presence in our territorial waters,” Estrada said. —WITH REPORTS FROM REUTERS, AP AND TINA G. SANTOS
