‘Nothing more than self-amusement’

The word war between the Philippines and China continued Wednesday after Beijing called Manila's removal of the floating barrier at Scarborough Shoal "nothing more than self-amusement."

China Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin also insisted on Beijing's sovereignty over Bajo de Masinloc, which he referred to as Huangyan Dao.

"I would like to reiterate that Huangyan Dao has always been China's territory," Wang said. "What the Philippines did looks like nothing more than self-amusement."

He made the scathing remarks after the Philippine Coast Guard removed the floating barrier installed by the China Coast Guard at Scarborough Shoal in accordance with a presidential order.

According to Wang, China will "continue to safeguard our territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests over Huangyan Dao."

Located 120 nautical miles from Zambales, Bajo de Masinloc is within the 220-nautical mile exclusive economic zone of the Philippines and is a traditional fishing ground for Filipinos in the West Philippine Sea.

China claims the vast South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea.

The 2016 Arbitral Award on the South China Sea invalidated Beijing's historic nine-dash line claim.

Seven years after the tribunal favored the Philippines' arbitral case against China, the ruling remains on paper as China continues to disregard it by continuing its illegal activities in the West Philippine Sea.

Not provoking

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, when asked about the statement of the Chinese ministry, said: "We are not provoking. We are asserting our rights under the UNCLOS, which is being respected by the whole world, hopefully by everybody, including China in the future."

"Nothing that you guys don't know; I think we know what's happening there. I think we know that we have to file a complaint. It's a matter of choosing the complaint to file and where to file it, whether in the International Criminal Court or the Permanent Court of Arbitration," he said.

He said he is more inclined to file the case with the PCA because they have the familiarity and the institutional memory to handle cases on the WPS.

On 12 July 2016, the PCA issued a unanimous award to the Philippines under Annex VII to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in the arbitration instituted by the Republic of the Philippines against the People's Republic of China.

More support

Meanwhile, maritime specialists, development workers, scientists, and other advocates on Thursday gave their unequivocal support to the Senate after it swiftly passed the Maritime Zones Bill as it conducts a second hearing to discuss the legislation under the Senate Special Committee on Philippine Maritime and Admiralty Zones (Special Committee).

They lauded the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council for including the Philippine Maritime Zones Act among the priority measures to be adopted this year.

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., on 20 September, met with the LEDAC on the inclusion of the declaration of the Philippines maritime zones in the Common Legislative Agenda of the 19th Congress.

The MZ Act is among LEDAC's new priority legislations.

The group backed the Senate in its sense of urgency in "adopting the MZ Act amid the varying issues arising in our maritime domain, including escalating tensions on the West Philippine Sea and the continuous destruction of our marine wealth and natural resources," among other things.

The MZ Act will declare the country's maritime zones based on standards set by the UNCLOS and reinforces the Philippines' victory in the South China Sea arbitral ruling that declared the nine-dash line illegal. And Pedring Labrador