Palace on harassment near shoal: Not Philippine’s problem

BANGKOK – The Philippines has nothing to do with the reported harassment by a Chinese naval vessel of the Liberian commercial oil tanker Green Aura near Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal last week, Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said.

He dismissed the incident as something between China and the Greek-owned vessel, even if this was manned by a Filipino crew, including a Filipino captain.

“It does not concern us because it’s not a Philippine vessel,” Panelo said yesterday on the sidelines of the 35th ASEAN Leaders’ Summit here. “For as long as they do not touch a Philippine ship or vessel, it would be the concern of that country that carries the flag of that particular vessel.”

He added that the Green Aura incident does not have any impact on the ongoing talks for the Code of Conduct on the South China Sea.

But maritime law expert Jay Batongbacal slammed this point of view as he cautioned Panelo against speaking “out of turn” on foreign policy matters.

“This is just so WRONG on several levels. When will someone stop Panelo from speaking out of turn on matters of foreign policy” Batongbacal tweeted.

He pointed out that silence on China’s assertion of “jurisdiction” against a Greek vessel, a third party, is effectively a “sign of acquiescence to such jurisdiction before such third party and, in this case, due to publicity, effectively before the whole world.”

Dismissing the incident, he said, is like saying the Philippines is not concerned that China exercises jurisdiction over Panatag against any other state.

“It’s like a person not caring that his house is being managed by someone else who claims to be the owner, and makes other people recognize he is the real owner,” Batongbacal also posted on Twitter.

He stressed that the freedom of the seas, including seamless navigation through all maritime zones, is a concern of all maritime trading nations, especially an archipelagic state like the Philippines, noting that China’s actions undermine this freedom and over the long term threaten Philippine maritime interests.

“If an armed person sets up in front of Panelo’s house and tells everyone who passes by to stay away and tell them the area belongs to that person now, will Panelo think it’s not any concern of his” Batongbacal also said.

But Panelo countered, saying Manila would be insulting Athens’ capability to assert its right if it intervenes in the incident. “We cannot deprive the country being represented by the oil tanker of its right and duty to protect its own ship. To do otherwise will be effectively divesting such country of its right and competence to take the cudgels for its ship. Such a demeanor will be a disrespect to it and even insulting to the capability of that country to assert its right,” he said in a statement. “Each country has the right to be protective and be concerned of the welfare of its citizens. In this case, however, there was no threat to the lives of our countrymen despite the ship captain’s engaging in retorts about an issue sensitive to our foreign relations concerning our seas. In this particular instance, invoking our state’s dominion is unnecessary,” he added. Green Aura captain Manolo Ebora was earlier quoted to have said that the Chinese ship ordered the international oil tanker to stay 10 nautical miles away from Panatag Shoal, a traditional fishing ground off the coast of Zambales.

Ebora said the Chinese naval vessel then moved toward Green Aura after they refused to heed the Chinese vessel’s order that it change course as the area is reportedly their territory.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana called on the Chinese government to “respect international maritime laws if it wants to earn the respect of the international community.”

“We believe that what happened should not be blown out of proportion or sensationalized,” his statement issued Sunday read. “We, however, would like to reiterate our call for all countries to exercise prudence and respect freedom of navigation and passage in the West Philippine Sea. Bajo de Masinloc is well within the Philippine EEZ, and the 2016 arbitral ruling declared that it is a common fishing area.”

He said an official report of the incident has been forwarded to the National Task Force on the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) for their appropriate action.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. stressed that the country’s only interest is the safety of the Filipino crewmembers as he warned of harming livelihoods if the seafarers get embroiled in a maritime issue.

“We stick our noses in and 400,000 Filipino mariners get embroiled in a maritime issue about which our only interest is the safety of the parts of the crew who just happen to be Filipino and were not harmed,” Locsin said.

He warned that the employment of 400,000 Filipino seafarers could hang in the balance.

Panelo agreed, saying such action would send “a message to shipping companies of our country’s inclination to meddle with or interfere into their own maritime affairs for the sole reason that a Filipino is under their employ.”

“There is a process in invoking our sovereign rights over our exclusive economic zones. We are currently in that process and it is moving forward and well,” he added. Panelo also chided Batongbacal for criticizing the administration’s reaction to the incident, accusing him of “ignoring the dynamics of the issues on the ground to be relevant in expressing his square theories he learned from his books.”