MANILA — Several Chinese vessels have returned and are now illegally operating within Philippine territorial waters and this has prompted the Department of Foreign Affairs to file once again another diplomatic protest barely a year after a similar ‘swarming’ occurred in the middle of last year incident at the Julian Felipe Reef area.
“(We) protested the return of over 100 Chinese vessels illegally operating in the waters in and around Julian Felipe Reef on 04 April 2022, barely a year after the same swarming incident was protested by the Philippine Government,” DFA said in an official statement.
“The Philippines calls on China to comply with its obligations under international law, cease and desist from displaying illegal and irresponsible behavior, avoid further escalating tensions at sea and immediately withdraw all of its vessels from Philippine maritime zones,” the agency added.
The latest incursion into Philippine territory has prompted a retired Philippine Coast Guard official to reiterate his warning that recent developments, particularly the upgrading of Cambodia’s Ream Naval Base to accommodate Chinese warships, indicate that Beijing is hell-bent on spreading its influence throughout Asia and this could jeopardize peace and security in the disputed areas of the South China Sea.
“Dito pa lang ay nakikita natin na hindi talaga nirerespeto ng China ang soberenidad at mga karapatan ng ibang bansa at ang kanilang nais ay sila ang maghari para sila ang makikinabang sa mga yamang-dagat na kanilang nahahango mula sa teritoryo ng iba,” the official, who requested anonymity, pointed out in an interview by Maharlika TV News.
“Hindi ba nag-impose sila ng fishing ban pero ngayon sila na mismo ang lumalabag dito!” he added.
According to the DFA, Juan Felipe Reef is “within the territorial sea of relevant high tide features in the Kalayaan Island Group, including Chigua Reef,” which the Philippines has sovereignty over (and) “the lingering unauthorized presence of Chinese fishing and maritime vessels is not only illegal but is also a source of instability in the region.”
DFA officials slammed the “persistent swarming” of the Chinese vessels, saying it violates international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) as well as Manila’s arbitral victory in 2016 that invalidated China’s expansive claims in the South China Sea.
“It is also a violation of China’s commitments under the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, in particular, the exercise of self-restraint pursuant to Paragraph 5 thereof,” they stressed. (ai/mtvn)
By: Tracy Cabrera
