DFA urged to prepare for legal action amid Beijing's South China Sea detention plan

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Francis Tolentino called on the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to be ready with legal actions against China that threaten to detain trespassers in the South China Sea (SCS), which is said to be enforced starting June 15.

Tolentino warned that the plan of China to detain for 60 days without trial any fishermen caught near the areas they legally claim starting June 15, three days after the celebration of our Independence Day, will trigger a lot of violations.

“I am calling on the DFA to really study several precedents on this. We have the case of three Ukrainian naval vessels detained by Russia, and in 2019, we have the illegal detention of Mexican nationals by the United States,” he said.

Tolentino said the DFA must have a plan as early as possible to prevent the detention of Filipino fishermen and utilize the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.

He said the DFA must tap international bodies to file its concern and require China to inform the Philippines if they detain Filipino fishermen, and their families must be informed.

Tolentino warned that China will be criticized by the international community if even one Filipino fisherman is detained.

Meanwhile, Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra said the government is ready to explore options other than diplomatic means if the situation between the Philippines and China in WPS worsens.

“We do not foreclose the possibility that if this situation worsens and we do not get the result that we desire, then we will have to explore other options than diplomatic,” Guevarra told reporters.

Guevarra, however, would not disclose what these options are as it is the policy of the government to take all measures and necessary actions to deescalate the matter.

“In the case of our big neighbor, the existing policy of government [is] to deescalate existing tension. So while we see many incident [actions] at sea that somehow make the atmosphere quite tense and stressful, still the government has always adopted a policy of trying to deescalate this tension by all available diplomatic means,” Guevarra said.

Despite China’s threat to arrest “foreigners” in the disputed maritime territories, the solicitor general vows “to make sure the safety and security of our fishermen and other Filipinos at sea within our EEZ are protected.”

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) is exploring the possibility of having a joint patrol in the high seas with the United States Coast Guard (UCSCG) and the Japan Coast Guard (JCG).

During the trilateral meeting in Singapore yesterday, PCG Commandant Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan said they discussed the three Coast Guard organizations conducting joint patrol beyond the Philippines’ EEZ.

“We also discussed the possibility of their personnel on board our ships, and we would also join them in their ships when we conduct patrols in the high seas, which is beyond our EEZ,” said Gavan. — Cecille Suerte Felipe, Evelyn Macairan, Diana Lhyd Suelto