‘China supports back-channel talks on West Philippine Sea tension’

MANILA, Philippines — Chinese officials have agreed to prioritize backchannel dialogues over public squabbling to de-escalate tensions in the West Philippine Sea, Sen. Erwin Tulfo said yesterday following a meeting with Chinese Ambassador Jing Quan.

Speaking to reporters after an all-senators’ caucus, Tulfo described his morning sit-down with the Chinese envoy as “productive,” noting a mutual consensus to halt the recent exchange of hostile statements.

“It was productive. Both of us agreed that there should be open, continuous diplomatic meetings rather than public discourse, rather than engage in mudslinging on-air, social media, newspaper,” Tulfo said.

“He agreed that it should always be like that – having meetings to further advance better relations between Philippines and China,” Tulfo, chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee, said.

He said Jing shared with him promising updates on regional maritime agreements. Among these is the highly anticipated Code of Conduct between China and ASEAN claimant-states – including the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei – which is targeted for completion by December.

Furthermore, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the China Coast Guard (CCG) is expected to be revived by the end of March.

“Instead of engaging in hostilities in the West Philippine Sea, they will have cooperation in patrol, search and rescue, cleanup. That’s what Ambassador Jing mentioned,” the senator noted.

During the meeting, Tulfo also took the opportunity to expound on Philippine democratic practices, particularly regarding the separation of powers and freedom of expression.

This stemmed from Beijing’s previous grievances regarding statements made by PCG spokesman for the West Philippine Sea Commodore Jay Tarriela and the burning of effigies of Chinese President Xi Jinping by Filipino protesters.

Tulfo said he emphasized to the diplomat that the PCG is under the executive branch, separate from the legislature, and that public protests are a protected right in the Philippines.

“I was telling them that we have freedom of speech. It’s under democratic process,” Tulfo recounted.

Tulfo clarified that there was no formal agreement among his fellow lawmakers during the subsequent afternoon caucus to actively “tone down” their own rhetoric against China.

When asked if the senators agreed to temper their statements, Tulfo briefly said toning down remarks was not tackled during the all-senators caucus.

The caucus was attended by Senate President Vicente Sotto III, President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson, Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri and majority Senators Loren Legarda, Pia Cayetano, Francis Pangilinan, Risa Hontiveros, JV Ejercito, Raffy Tulfo, Camille and Mark Villar. Senators from the minority who attended were Robinhood Padilla, Bong Go and Jinggoy Estrada.

Signal jamming

But while Tulfo was reporting breakthroughs in dialogue with Beijing’s embassy officials, Tarriela reported that the Chinese may have been jamming internet signals around Bajo de Masinloc or Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal to disrupt operations of the PCG and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources to assist Filipino fishermen in the area.

In a virtual interview, Tarriela noted fluctuations in the Starlink internet satellite system within a 24-nautical mile radius around Bajo de Masinloc.

“This is the first time we have experienced the signal jamming of our Starlink internet connection,” Tarriela said.

Coast guard vessels BRP Cabra and BRP Gabriela Silang were deployed to Bajo de Masinloc to distribute fuel subsidies and ice to Filipinos on 35 fishing boats under the government’s Kadiwa para sa Bagong Bayaning Mangingisda program.

“There’s no other country that would think to jam our internet connectivity every time we go closer to Bajo de Masinloc. Definitely, it will be the People’s Republic of China,” Tarriela said. — Andrew Ronquillo, Artemio Dumlao, Ghio Ong