Diplomatic protests and more

We often take the word ORGANIZATION for granted in most times we, ordinary citizens, speak of the United Nations Organization. It is as if there is no “O” in the initials of this world body. Most of us think that the UNO is a super body and therefore it has authority over its members. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Jorge Coquia, Ll.B; Ll.M; S.J.D; and former President of Philippine Society of International Law and Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago, wrote a book on Public International Law to tell us that “the United Nations is not a State or a Super State”, and thus, we should not tend to overlook the fact that according to Article 2 of its charter, the “Organization is based on the principle of the sovereign equality of all its Members”. It may be laughable for me to compare the UNO and a Parent Teachers Association (PTA) but it is true that both are organizations that do not have power to punish its members.

I felt the need to share my thoughts on the theoretical absence of authority of the UNO over the Communist Chinese incursions into the West Philippine Sea. The UNO has no power to order the communists to leave the islands and islets which have been ruled by the International Arbitral Tribunal to be within the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone, (EEZ). Why? Again because the UN is just an organization of equal sovereign states and is not a super state positioned above all states.

I need however to commend our government for doing the initial things it can do. By the way, I chanced upon a torn paper which contained a note written in hand by my lady, Carmen. This paper was inserted in the Coquia-Defensor Santiago book I cited above. It reads “there is a right, but no remedy, no sanctions for violations.” This note is relevant in the light of a news report released by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). According to the DFA, President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr., has filed a total of 97 diplomatic protests over China’s presence and activities in the West Philippine Sea, including 30 lodged this year. These are the needed steps for us to bring to the UN General Assembly the Chinese invasion of our territory and their forcible and illegal occupancy of some parts of our EEZ.

Among the purposes of the United Nations as set forth in Article 1 of the charter is to develop friendly relations among nations. The acts of Communist China in occupying portions of our EEZ can never be described as friendly. These are aggressive and illegal deeds. When the elements of Chinese militia and Chinese Coast Guard trained their water hoses on small and defenseless Filipino vessels, they were unfriendly. An FB post showing that the Filipino boat almost capsized because of the criminal acts of superior Chinese maritime assets demonstrated how cruel and inhumane are these communists. Worse was their blinding our coast guard personnel with lasers!

As its initial step, the Philippines should bring all these almost 100 diplomatic protests and notes verbale to the UN General Assembly and other pieces of evidence documenting the aggressive and illegal acts of Communist China in the West Philippine Sea. While it is true that the UN cannot sanction China for these violations, it can allow the Philippine government to adopt a government-sponsored policy of Boycott Made in China as a form of retorsion and certainly it can influence other states to put an embargo in their trade relations with the communists. China has violated our rights. The UN should encourage other states to adopt ways as remedies to our plight.

"The Philippines should bring all these almost 100 diplomatic protests and notes verbale to the UN General Assembly."