Don’t provoke, China warns Phl
AFP: We don’t care about China’s reaction. What’s ours is ours. We only asserted our rights; we have nothing to be afraid of
Daily TribuneAFP: We don’t care about China’s reaction. What’s ours is ours. We only asserted our rights; we have nothing to be afraid of
China yesterday warned the Philippines not to "provoke or stir up trouble" in the South China Sea after the Philippine Coast Guard cut through a floating barrier in the disputed Scarborough Shoal on orders of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said, "China's resolve in safeguarding its sovereignty and maritime interests over Huangyan Island is unwavering."
"We urge the Philippines not to make provocations or seek trouble," Wang said, as he accused the Philippines of intruding into the shoal, also known as Bajo de Masinloc, in the West Philippine Sea, which overlaps with the South China Sea.
Wang admitted that China installed the floating barriers to "block and drive away" Philippine vessels.
"On 22 September, a vessel of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources of the Philippines, without China's permission, intruded into the adjacent waters of Huangyan Dao and attempted to enter its lagoon," he said.
Wang insisted that Scarborough Shoal "has always been China's territory" and that it has "indisputable sovereignty over the island and its adjacent waters and sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the relevant waters."
China has been claiming nearly all of the 1.3-million square miles of the South China Sea and most of the islands and sandbars within, including many features hundreds of miles from China's mainland.
Wang justified the China Coast Guard's move to "block and drive away" the BFAR-PCG vessel, saying "the steps it took were professional and restrained."
Removal is consistent
The Department of Foreign Affairs defended the removal of the barriers by the PCG as "consistent" with the country's exercise of sovereignty at Scarborough Shoal.
"Technically, we have a right to practice our sovereignty and our sovereign rights. So, it would have been consistent with our position, but we're still waiting for the full report," Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo said Tuesday.
The PCG said the barrier had prevented Filipinos from fishing in the marine life-rich shoal 120 nautical miles from Zambales. A 2016 arbitral ruling declared the shoal a shared fishing ground for Chinese, Filipino, and Vietnamese nationals.
Nothing to be afraid of
Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesperson, Col. Medel Aguilar, said the barriers' removal was legal. "It's only right that we remove it because that (Scarborough Shoal) is ours," he said.
"We don't care about their reaction," Aguilar said of China. "What's ours is ours. We only asserted our right; we have nothing to be afraid of."
In a separate interview, Commodore Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesperson for matters related to the WPS, said the barrier posed a hazard to navigation, and thus was a clear violation of international law.
"It also hindered the conduct of fishing and livelihood activities of Filipino fisherfolk in [Bajo de Masinloc], which is an integral part of the Philippine national territory," he said.
Tarriela said the PCG will work with BFAR and the AFP to enter the lagoon at Scarborough Shoal after it completely removes the floating barrier.
"And also, to open this as it was already decided by the arbitral award that it is not just for Filipinos, but is a traditional fishing ground for Chinese, Vietnamese and Filipinos. So, we are going to abide by the decision of the international ruling, and that is our end goal," he added.
