‘Strait passage cannot be impeded’
Chinese ships brouhaha blown out of proportion, claims military official
A high-ranking military official on Wednesday maintained that foreign ships navigating through straits like Sibutu and Balabac do not need to seek permission from Philippine authorities under the United Nations Convention for the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Requesting anonymity, the official told the Daily Tribune that foreign ships passing through straits are duty bound to proceed expeditiously toward their destinations, but that they are not required under UNCLOS to inform the coastal states of the passage.
Coastal states, in fact, cannot impede the passage of foreign ships in nearby international straits as long as the passage does not pose security threats to the former, the source in the military averred.
President Rodrigo Duterte this week issued a statement that foreign vessels entering the country’s territorial waters should seek permission first from the Philippine government.
On Tuesday, several lawmakers led by Sen. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, as well as Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana backed the President in maintaining the country’s territorial integrity.
Sen. Panfilo Lacson yesterday went so far as to urge the Philippine government to invoke its Mutual Defense Treaty with the United States to stop the alleged incursions of Chinese ships into Philippine territorial waters.
“No clearance, no passage. The challenge is on the agencies to comply and implement. Our alliances and existing treaties will play a major role,” Lacson said in a Twitter post.
But Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. expressed reservations over Lacson’s suggestion, saying “we got to talk. I am not so sure about our alliances and existing treaties.”
Still, passage through international straits, like the reported sightings of Chinese vessels in Sibutu Strait, does not constitute entering territorial waters, the military source told this reporter.
“Even the Americans are doing that (pass through straits close to the Philippines),” said the source. “When the US ships pass through the Balabac Strait, they don’t ask for diplomatic clearance beforehand.”
He explained that the navies of the US and other nations only ask permission from the Philippine government
when they are going inside the country’s territorial waters like when doing port calls.
Under the UNCLOS, the Chinese vessels that have been at the center of the controversy on disputed waters may have done nothing wrong, the official averred.
He added that media blew the issue out of proportion, thereby forcing the Department of Foreign Affairs to file a diplomatic protest with China to calm down public outrage.
If at all, the Chinese can only be faulted for turning off their Automatic Identification System when on disputed waters, a violation of the regulations of the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code, the source said.
Also, the Chinese vessels should also reply when contacted and challenged on disputed waters, he added.