Locsin to China: Get the f**k out of Phl waters
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. yesterday told China to “get the f*** out” of Philippine waters as he filed two more diplomatic protests over the “incessant, illegal” presence of its fishing boats in the West Philippine Sea and its coast guards’ “shadowing, blocking, dangerous maneuver and radio challenges” against the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).
“China, my friend, how politely can I put it? Let me see… O…GET THE F**K OUT. What are you doing to our friendship? You. Not us. We’re trying. You. You’re like an ugly oaf forcing your attentions on a handsome guy who wants to be a friend; not to father a Chinese province,” Locsin tweeted.
He defended his brash remarks, saying, “Usual suave diplomatic speak gets nothing done.”
China has consistently ignored Manila’s demand that it withdraw its vessels from Philippine waters, particularly from the Julian Felipe (Whitsun) Reef. In its demand, the Philippines said Chinese militia and coast guard vessels “blatantly infringe upon Philippine sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction.”
He reminded Beijing of President Duterte’s message before the United Nations that the 2016 arbitral ruling has reaffirmed the Philippines’ maritime entitlements and invalidated Beijing’s nine-dash line claim.
“What is so hard to understand about Duterte’s UN declaration that the Arbitral Award made all maritime features Philippines’; no one else’s?” Locsin said.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Duterte’s appeal for China to remove its ships in Julian Felipe Reef was not ignored as fewer vessels were seen in the area after his meeting with Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian.
“Because of the conversation between Huang and our President, the number (of ships in the area) went down, 136 left and that’s the first batch and for the second batch, another 65... so 201 (ships) left from the original 220,” Roque said at a press briefing.
“So let us not say that our President was ignored because only about 20 ships remained there. And I think the 201 fishing vessels left because of the message of the President and the warm relations that we enjoy with China,” he said.
“With regard to the remaining few, we’re still hoping that they will leave,” he added.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced yesterday the filing of two more diplomatic protests as it rejected the April 26 statement of the spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs that China enjoys sovereignty over Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
“It is without basis in international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and is not recognized by the international community,” the DFA said, referring to the Chinese official’s statement.
Manila also protested China’s demanding a stop to the Philippines’ maritime patrols and training exercises.
“The Philippines’ conduct of maritime patrols and training exercises in these areas is a legitimate and routine act of a sovereign country in its territory and territorial waters and is part of the Philippines’ administrative responsibility,” the DFA said.
The DFA also reiterated its calls on China to withdraw its vessels from the Kalayaan Island Group and Panatag Shoal.
“China has no law enforcement rights in these areas. The presence of Chinese Coast Guard vessels in the Philippines’ territorial waters of Pagasa Islands and Bajo de Masinloc, and exclusive economic zone, raises serious concern,” it said.
China, more important?
On Sunday, former foreign secretary Albert del Rosario asked the Duterte administration to explain why it seemed to be giving more importance to China than to Filipinos who were questioning its seizure of land features in the West Philippine Sea.
He was reacting to Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea’s lambasting him and retired justice Antonio Carpio Jr. last Saturday for their strong stance against China’s bullying. Malacañang had also said Duterte was “not responsible” for China’s gaining control over some land features in the West Philippine Sea.
“China has been taking away our land and waters. We would like to ask, Mr. Secretary, why our fellow Filipinos are being chastised for wanting to defend our country, rather than China? Why are we giving more importance to China over that of our own people?” Del Rosario asked Medialdea in an open letter.
Sen. Manny Pacquiao also urged President Duterte not to “buckle” in the face of China’s repeated provocations in the West Philippine Sea. He recalled Duterte’s promise during the 2016 campaign to ride a jet ski to an island in the West Philippine Sea to plant a Philippine flag.
“It (campaign promise) gave me and many others great encouragement and resolve that I said to myself: ‘this is what we need.’ But when time came we needed to make a stand, he buckled,” Pacquiao told reporters in Filipino during an online press conference.
He likened China’s intrusions in the West Philippine Sea to an intruder building some structures on one’s property.
He said he found Duterte’s stance “lacking” and would only further embolden China.
Pacquiao last April 10 wrote to Ambassador Huang expressing alarm over the presence of some 220 Chinese militia vessels in the West Philippine Sea and asked that Beijing order their removal.
He said the Chinese government has yet to formally reply to his letter but disclosed that Huang sent a text message to Ron Munsayac, executive director and public information officer of PDP-Laban, expressing hope that ties between the two countries would remain amicable.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros, for her part, said the Philippines “has had enough” of the illegal Chinese activities in the West Philippine Sea.
“It is absolutely enraging that our Coast Guard is the one that is being blocked and challenged by China in our territory,” Hontiveros said in a statement.
She expressed support for the DFA’s firing off diplomatic protests but stressed authorities should look for other ways to stop China and make it pay for environmental depredations in the West Philippine Sea.
Ready to defend national interest
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said China’s military superiority would not stop the Philippines from defending itself with whatever it has.
“While we acknowledge that China’s military capability is more advanced than ours, this does not deter us from defending our national interest and our dignity as a people, with all that we have,” Lorenzana said, stressing that patrols by the PCG and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) around Kalayaan Group and other areas in the West Philippine Sea will continue.
“The government will not waver in its position. Walang alisan,” he said, noting that the goal is to defend the territory without going to war.
“President Duterte’s orders to us have been very firm and straightforward: defend what is rightfully ours without going to war and maintain the peace in the seas,” he said.
“To those saying we are not aligned with the President, let me clarify that my pronouncements echo the stand of our President and Commander-in-Chief,” Lorenzana emphasized.
He said the country’s relationship with China is multi-faceted and there are various areas that are mutually beneficial to both countries.
“We can be cordial and cooperative with other nations but not at the expense of our sovereignty and sovereign rights,” he pointed out.
Amid the menacing presence of Chinese vessels, the PCG described as successful the first leg of its training exercises in the West Philippine Sea with BFAR.
“Our people and assets are our greatest weapons for maritime security. Rest assured we will provide all training and support needed to ensure they are equipped and prepared to protect our citizens, especially our local fishermen in our country’s waters,” PCG Commandant Admiral George Ursabia Jr. said.
Meanwhile, a food security advocacy group warned that the country stands to lose P720 million worth of fisheries per month if the Chinese are allowed to continue fishing in Philippine waters.
At a virtual briefing yesterday, Tugon Kabuhayan convenor Asis Perez said the country may have already lost 3.6 million kilos or 3,600 metric tons of fish in the West Philippine Sea, based on estimates by the National Task Force on the West Philippine Sea that around 240,000 kilos of fish are taken each day by the 240 Chinese fishing vessels stationed in the area.