7 in 10 say Philippine must continue to assert West Philippine Sea rights

MANILA, Philippines — Seven in 10 Filipinos believe that the Marcos administration should continue to assert its rights in the West Philippine Sea, a survey conducted by Pulse Asia showed.

The June 26 to 30 survey, commissioned by the Stratbase group, found that 73 percent of the respondents agreed that the current administration must continue to assert the country’s rights in the region “in line with the continuous aggression of China.”

The survey result was presented by Stratbase president Dindo Manhit during a forum held in commemoration of the ninth anniversary of the 2016 arbitral award on issues related to the South China Sea.

Based on the survey, only seven percent disagreed that the current administration should assert the Philippines’ rights in the West Philippine Sea in accordance with international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the arbitral ruling.

Eight percent said they cannot say if they agree or disagree, while two percent said they do not have enough knowledge to give an opinion.

Across areas, those who agreed that the Philippines must continue to assert its rights was highest among those in Metro Manila at 83 percent, closely followed by those in the rest of Luzon at 82 percent.

Manhit noted that the lower number in the Visayas (60 percent) and Mindanao (59 percent) pulled down the overall figure.

Conversely, those who disagreed with the test statement was highest among those in Mindanao at 14 percent, followed by those in the Visayas and Metro Manila at seven percent and the rest of Luzon at two percent.

Ambivalence was highest among those in the Visayas at 29 percent, followed by those in Mindanao at 22 percent, balance Luzon at 15 percent and Metro Manila at nine percent.

Pulse Asia has yet to release the full results of the survey. Its June poll had 1,200 respondents and a margin of error of plus/minus 2.8 percent.

US slams China 

US Ambassador MaryKay Carlson criticized China yesterday for still refusing to honor the 2016 arbitral award that invalidated its expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea. 

“As clearly provided in the Convention, the decision was and remains final and legally binding on the Philippines and China, and is a beacon guiding us toward a future where powerful countries cannot trample on the legal rights of other States,” she said in a speech at the Stratbase forum on the eve of the anniversary of the ruling.

“Yet nine years on, Beijing has ignored the ruling and continues to operate with impunity. China has unlawfully asserted ‘territorial sovereignty’ and other exclusive rights over huge areas of ocean space where international law provides that all countries enjoy high seas freedoms of navigation and overflight and other lawful uses of the sea,” Carlson noted.

According to her, China’s expansive claims do not only affect the Philippines but also “directly conflict with the sovereign rights and jurisdiction of other Southeast Asian coastal states – Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia – in their exclusive economic zones and continental shelves.”   

“China continues to engage in illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive actions in support of its spurious claims. Dangerous maneuvers, environmental degradation and interference with lawful activities in the South China Sea threaten the rights of the Philippines and other claimant states as well as the stability of the region,” she said.

But Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian maintained yesterday that islands in the South China Sea belong to China.

“It has a strong legal and historical basis that the Nanhai Zhudao (SCS islands) belongs to China,” he said in a Facebook post yesterday. 

He explained that after World War II, “the Chinese government recovered and resumed the exercise of sovereignty over Nanhai Zhudao, which had been illegally occupied by Japan, pursuant to the Cairo Declaration (1943) and the Potsdam Proclamation (1945).”

Fight deception

National Security Adviser Eduardo Año issued a statement commemorating the milestone, saying “we must also confront the continuing illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive actions that threaten regional peace and stability. 

“With the might of international law on our side, the Philippines will not yield. We will continue to implement the Award, assert our rights and protect our national interest through sustained maritime presence, law enforcement, capacity-building, strategic communication and robust cooperation with like-minded partners and allies,” he said.

Año described the award as “a historic affirmation of the rule of law and our nation’s rightful place within the framework of international maritime order.” 

“The Award remains a definitive triumph of reason over force and of rules over coercion. It reaffirmed the primacy of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea as the Constitution of the Oceans, and clarified with finality the extent of our maritime rights and entitlements in the West Philippine Sea,” he stressed.

“The decision categorically rejected the so-called nine-dash line and China’s sweeping claims of historic rights over nearly the entire South China Sea. It upheld the Philippines’ sovereign rights within our EEZ, and ruled against interference in the lawful activities of our vessels and fisherfolk. It also called out the environmental destruction caused by unlawful reclamation and militarization of maritime features,” he said.

Despite China’s refusal to honor the ruling, Año emphasized that the award is “final and binding” and “cannot be erased by intimidation or misinformation.”

Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr., in a separate statement, said the ninth anniversary of the 2016 arbitral award reminds everyone of “something simple yet powerful: the rule of law matters.”

Foreign Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro, for her part, expressed worry over how China continues to reject the arbitral award nearly a decade after the decision. 

Members of Akbayan distributed Philippine flags in Quezon City yesterday in commemoration of the clandmark arbitral court decision.

Meanwhile, Philippine Coast Guard Commodore Jay Tarriela lambasted what he described as the rampant disinformation that still persists despite heightened government vigilance in the West Philippine Sea, with some naysayers even calling it a “disaster.”

Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada, meanwhile, condemned China’s attempt to prevent further screenings of the award-winning Filipino documentary “Food Delivery: Fresh from the West Philippine Sea.” — Michael Punongbayan, Emmanuel Tupas, Ghio Ong, Marc Jayson Cayabyab