Phl seeks explanation on ship boarding

CEBU, Philippines – President Aquino is seeking an explanation from China on its order to police in the province of Hainan to board and take control of foreign ships that “illegally enter” disputed waters.

Aquino said he had read reports about China’s order  – lifted from an article in the state-controlled China Daily – and tasked Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario to verify it and take appropriate action.

Aquino said it would be difficult for China to enforce such policy because of a particular provision in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on freedom of navigation. Aquino said Beijing should instead help ease and not exacerbate the situation.

“Publicly, China said several times it would not be a disruption to freedom of navigation. Now, we can see on the surface, this is counter to their oft-stated public statements,” the President told reporters yesterday in an ambush interview on the sidelines of a meeting with Liberal Party members here and before leading the national celebration for the canonization of Pedro Calungsod.

“Meaning, if it is proven that there is really an order, that this is not a proposal and they will really do it, we will lodge a diplomatic note or a formal protest,” Aquino said.

“And it also tells us where to go to in terms of advancing our interest. We might accelerate and bring it before the appropriate international tribunal to finally settle the matter or at least start the process of settling it legally and concretely,” Aquino said.

He said he had appealed to China during the last Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Cambodia to promote peace and stability in the area.

“I think we made it very, very clear. My last intervention in the EAS (East Asia Summit) dialogue, basically, it dealt with that, and easing all the tensions and what would be necessary for all sides to demonstrate goodwill,” the President said. “And if this is the response, and again, I emphasized ‘if,’ it is difficult because the story might have been exaggerated, this might be just a proposal, they might be referring to something specific,” he said.

“And if proven, of course, we will react if there is really such an action on their part. If there is none, we will not add tension,” he said.

Protests

At the House of Representatives, lawmakers led by Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. are calling for stronger and unified protests against China’s plan, including raising the issue before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and enlisting support from ASEAN and the UN.

“We strongly object to this order and we must strongly resist any attempt to board and inspect our vessels that are within our 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) because we have sovereign rights there,” Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said.

“They (Chinese police) have no right at all to board our ships,” he said.

He said that since China is militarily superior to the Philippines, the government must elevate the matter to the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea for compulsory arbitration.

He said the Philippines would have a strong case as China’s “nine-dash line” has no basis in international law.

“We immediately raise this for compulsory arbitration because this order to board could lead to war,” Rodriguez said.

Muntinlupa City Rep. Rodolfo Biazon, chairman of the House committee on national defense and security, urged President Aquino to convene the National Security Council so the government can formulate a single position instead of “many officials making different interpretations.”

He said the government must clarify matters with Beijing as its move can spark international outrage because 40 percent of global trade and commerce pass through the disputed waters.

“So this could also be advantageous to us because Europe, the Middle East and the Americas would definitely protest this because their goods, including oil, pass through that channel,” Biazon said in a telephone interview.

He said the government must clarify matters, including whether the order is already a national policy of China, or which areas or activities are covered by Beijing’s directive.

“Does it cover economic activities like fishing and exploration within our EEZ? If so, then this order is definitely a violation of the UNCLOS,” he said.

Aurora Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara said the government must also exhaust all means to settle the issue peacefully.

“Sobriety and wisdom should come into play in dealing with China and experts should be engaged,” Zambales Rep. Milagros Magsaysay, for her part, said.

Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo also urged other claimant-nations not to escalate tensions in the area.

Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone said the government should protest China’s bullying before the UN.

“Clearly, China is trying to bully the Philippines and other countries in the region. The ASEAN, the United States and the UN should initiate moves to preserve peace in the area to ensure navigational freedom. The world economy will be adversely affected if China continues its provocative actions,” he said.

He said a large part of world trade passes through the West Philippine Sea and South China Sea.

He added that the protests raised by the Philippines, India, Indonesia, and Vietnam against Beijing’s release of a new passport design bearing China’s map based on its nine-dash-line claim “are legitimate moves to protect our sovereign rights in the disputed area.” 

Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said the Philippines may have to file a diplomatic protest against China even as he called for sobriety.

“We will just have to see what we can do to avoid this situation where they will be boarding our ships,” Gazmin said.

In the China Daily report, Beijing said its police are authorized “under the revised regulations” to board and take control of foreign vessels that stray into what it considers its territories in the disputed waters of West Philippine Sea and South China Sea.

“If foreign ships or crew members violate regulations, Hainan police have the right to take over the ships or their communication systems, under the revised regulations,” the report read.

“Activities such as entering the island province’s waters without permission, damaging coastal defense facilities and engaging in publicity that threatens national security are illegal,” the English-language newspaper reported.

The China Daily also reported Beijing’s plan to send new maritime surveillance ships to the disputed waters. –  Aurea Calica, Jaime Laude, Jess Diaz, Paolo Romero