Senate President Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri on Wednesday urged China to stop what he described as “provocative activities” in the West Philippine Sea.
“We demand that the Chinese government stop all these violent activities and all these provocative activities in Ayungin Shoal and the WPS,” Zubiri told reporters in a press briefing.
This, after the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea said that the Chinese Coast Guard and Chinese maritime militia vessels harassed, blocked, deployed water cannons, and executed dangerous maneuvers against the Filipino vessels, who is conducting a rotational and re-provisional mission to BRP Sierra Madre.
The NTF-WPS added that such actions resulted in “minor damage” to the Philippine vessels and injuries to four Filipino crew members.
Zubiri reminded China that the use of excessive force is against the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, or UNCLOS, of which China is a signatory.
He noted that it is high time to de-escalate the tension in the WPS.
“It would only take one accident. If one of our boats capsized, I don’t know. Only God will know what will happen,” he said.
“So , I appeal to the Chinese Navy to stop their provocative actions in the WPS because we do not want any conflict. We don’t want a conflict with China,” he added.
While calling for a de-escalation of tension, the Senate chief reiterated that the country would not let China occupy a few more territories in the WPS.
“[W]e are not going to allow one square inch of our territory to be taken away from us. So, we're appealing to China to work out some sort of conduct, [a] code of conduct,” he said.
China claims the vast South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea, which is within the Philippines’ 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone.
In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration rejected Beijing’s historical claims in the West Philippine Sea and favored Manila’s sovereign rights in the area.
Zubiri urged China to allow smaller vessels of the Philippines to conduct resupply missions to the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal.
“Please don’t harass them… Like any other area with international waters, every ship is respected, and every ship is protected by law. They must do the same,” he said.
“This is not their backyard where they can just do whatever they want and bully whoever they want,” he added.