Senators drafting new resolution on Chinese intrusions in West Philippines Sea

MANILA, Philippines — Senators are drafting a resolution condemning China’s provocative actions in the West Philippines Sea and providing the executive department several options to address the matter.

“We have a new resolution being drafted. The gist of the resolution is of course to condemn their (Chinese) entry. We will show the dates and days when they entered our country and their continuous harassment of our Coast Guards, Navy and fishermen. And the second course there is that we are urging the government to do something. They should do something,” Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said over the weekend.

An earlier Senate resolution, filed by Sen. Risa Hontiveros, called on the Marcos administration to raise Beijing’s harassment in Philippine waters before the United Nations General Assembly.

Senators held an executive session or closed-door meeting with security officials of the executive department last night to discuss the Senate stand on Hontiveros’ urging the administration to turn to the UNGA for help against Beijing.

Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva sent a photo to reporters showing senators at the caucus yesterday. With the senators were Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo, National Security Adviser Eduardo Año, and Armed Forces chief of staff Gen. Romeo Browner.

Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano said Marcos may tap former president Rodrigo Duterte for bilateral talks with Beijing or for backchannelling initiatives, instead of raising the issue with the UN.

But Cayetano clarified he was not making any recommendation to the Palace but was merely airing a possible strategy to resolve the dispute with China.

“President Duterte is the best representative of the country because of his relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping,” Cayetano said.

He reiterated his opposition to Hontiveros’ resolution. “Let’s not rush in. The Senate can’t just say we’re angry, hotheaded. It’s the President who should decide, he’s the chief architect, and we can’t pre-empt him. That is undue pressure, let’s not burn the house down,” he said.

President Marcos earlier said Hontiveros is “free to file whatever resolutions she wants but I do not know how that will translate into any action that will reach the UNGA… the United Nations entertains governments, not parts of government.”

Cayetano noted that the public should not be led into believing that seeking UNGA’s help would immediately solve the problem or draw international support for the Philippines.

“We are not supposed to give people false hopes… Of course, other countries also think about the impact on them” if it means antagonizing China “by voting in our favor in UN,” he said.

He expressed concern that raising the WPS issue with the UN will hurt the Philippine economy “because we have many trade agreements with China.”

He said it would be better to let bilateral talks with China to proceed, “or let the discussion go through ASEAN to ensure that our countrymen can fish in the West Philippine Sea.”

“It’s easy to stand there and curse the Chinese and become popular but woe to the fishermen who cannot fish,” he said.

Hontiveros, for her part, said she is willing to accept amendments. “But the resolution should still urge the executive to exhaust all diplomatic means at our disposal, specifically bringing the issue to a larger international body, including the UNGA.”

“It should be clear that some action has to be taken. We should not yield to China’s threats and intimidation. Why are we even now afraid to fight when we have so many allies?” Hontiveros explained