‘No right to stay in Philippines waters’

MANILA, Philippines — Calling China a bully, senators reminded yesterday the Chinese coast guard that it does not have the right to trespass into, much less remain, in Philippine waters.

The senators were reacting to CCG’s latest act of harassment in the West Philippine Sea last Friday, wherein the Chinese fired water cannon at one of the Philippine vessels delivering provisions for soldiers stationed on the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal.

Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said the incident has exposed “China as a bully: using size and brute strength to illegally encroach upon our exclusive economic zone and enforce a baseless right to drive away our protectors.”

“No amount of aggression can undo the fact that the Chinese government’s claims to the West Philippine Sea have already been invalidated by the Permanent Court of Arbitration,” he said, referring to the 2016 arbitral ruling that invalidated China’s sweeping nine-dash line claim.

“Water cannons and blockades will not dampen the will and resolve of our Navy and our Coast Guard to protect our exclusive economic zone in the West Philippine Sea,” Zubiri said.

Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda said there was no truth to the CCG’s claim that it was the Philippine vessels that were “trespassing,” as the area where Friday’s incident happened was well within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.

“The Philippines takes every opportunity to assert the significance and importance of the 2016 Arbitral Award in bilateral and multilateral fora. Our country is consistent that the UNCLOS and Award are twin anchors of its actions and its policy in the West Philippine Sea,” Legarda said.

She lauded those involved in the resupply mission as well as the troops stationed on the Sierra Madre for “fulfilling their duty to the nation.”

For his part, Senator JV Ejercito said the “latest unprovoked acts of coercion and dangerous maneuvers against a legitimate and routine Philippine rotation and resupply mission” were not only illegal, but also a proof of China’s insincerity in maintaining stability in the region.

“This latest bullying exposes China’s lack of sincerity in peaceful talks. We cannot allow this act