THE National Security Council (NSC) yesterday said the government’s “counter-measure package” against Chinese aggression in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) is not limited to the military aspect as it also calls for diplomatic measures.
“The proportionate, deliberate, and reasonable response that the President was talking about covers not only the aspect of strengthening our military or defense capabilities together with other allies, partners and friends,” NSC Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya, also spokesman of the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea, said in the “Bagong Pilipinas” public briefing.
“It also talks about exhausting diplomatic efforts to resolve the issue… It is not in the interest of the Philippines, it is not in the interest of China, the United States or any of our allies and partners for war to happen,” he added.
On Thursday last week, President Marcos Jr said government agencies and instrumentalities will implement a “response and counter-measure package that is proportionate, deliberate, and reasonable in the face of the open, unabating, and illegal, coercive, aggressive, and dangerous attacks by agents of the China Coast Guard and the Chinese maritime militia.”
Chinese Coast Guard vessels and Chinese maritime militia vessels have harassed Philippine military resupply missions to the Philippine-held Ayungin Shoal in the past months, through dangerous maneuvers, cannoning and ramming.
The last harassment incident occurred on March 23. It led to severe damage of the military-contracted supply boat Unaizah Mae 4 and wounding of three Navy personnel.
The President has said the Philippines is not seeking conflict with any nation but “we will not be cowed into silence, submission, or subservience.”
Malaya said government has to find “diplomatic solution to the problem as part of the package of countermeasures and responses that the President spoke about.”
Malaya said the countermeasure package includes the strengthening of maritime domain awareness through the enhanced National Maritime Council that replaced the old National Coast Watch Council.
“This is part and parcel of the responses and countermeasures that the President has directed. Many of our countrymen thought that our counter-response or measures is purely military. It’s not. The measures cover multidimensions and this is one aspect of that,” said Malaya.
‘GENTLEMAN’S AGREEMENT’
Malaya also stressed that the reported gentleman’s agreement reached by former President Duterte with China is not binding on the Marcos administration. The agreement, according to former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said, was for the Philippines to refrain from bringing construction supplies to Ayungin Shoal, and deliver only food and water to Filipino troops there.
“The gentleman’s agreement mentioned by former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque is not a legally binding agreement,” said Malaya.
“That agreement only pertains to the previous administration. Since it was not signed, it’s not a document that is legally binding. The Marcos administration is not bound by it and obviously we do not (recognize it),” he said.
Malaya maintained that the Marcos administration will not allow any inch of the Philippine territory to be lost.
“Remember, that BRP Sierra Madre is there,” he said, referring to the rusting Navy ship that serves as military outpost at Ayungin Shoal.
“We are in occupation of Ayungin Shoal and we will not do anything to jeopardize that,” said Malaya.
Malaya said it was not right to say that Ayungin Shoal will be lost because of the current administration’s refusal to follow the gentleman’s agreement.
“That is a wrong conclusion,” said Malaya.
PROBE SOUGHT
Former senator Antonio Trillanes IV yesterday asked Sen. Imee Marcos to conduct an investigation on the “gentleman’s agreement,” and her claim that he and former President Benigno Aquino were “fooled” into giving up the country’s claim to Scarborough Shoal.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Trillanes hit the President’s sister for saying in a radio interview on Sunday that he and Aquino were made to believe that the US government will help the Philippines after a standoff occurred between the country and China at Scarborough Shoal in 2012.
In the radio interview, Marcos said: “Eto ang problema natin kasi nung 2012, naniwala tayo, yung nabola sila Sen. Trillanes at President Noynoy, ewan ko kung sino ang nabola o nagpadala sa kanila, na yung mga Amerikano raw ay tutulong sa atin. Eh, biglang nawala yung claim natin, naisahan tayo ng mga Intsik. Eto ngayon sa Ayungin or Scarborough Shoal inokupahan ng todo eh wala namang kilos yung ‘Kano
(The problem is that in 2012, we believed, or [then] Sen. [Antonio] Trillanes and [former] President [Benigno] Noynoy Aquino were made to believe, I don’t know who among the two were influenced, that the Americans will help us. But our claims [in Scarborough Shoal] were suddenly lost as China has outwitted us so the latter started to heighten its occupation in Scarborough Shoal, and sadly, the Americans were nowhere in sight for help)
Trillanes said Senator Marcos should have researched on what really transpired in 2012 when he was appointed by Aquino as backchannel negotiator with China to ease the tension due to the standoff.
Trillanes also posted a 15-minute video which explained what transpired that time.
“Sen. @SenImeeMarcos, kindly watch this explainer para magka-background ka ng konti before talking to the media. Better yet, I am requesting you, as the Chairperson of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, to conduct an inquiry to shed light on the matter tapos isama na rin ang secret deal ni Duterte sa Ayungin (and then include the secret deal of Duterte in Ayungin),” he said.
Trillanes said the issues against him as backchannel negotiator that time, including that he “sold” Scarborough Shoal to the Chinese, and that he committed treason, among others, are recycled ones that he has clarified for so many times.
He said Aquino tapped him to be the backchannel negotiator with China after the standoff at Panatag Shoal or Scarborough Shoal in April 2012 as tension began to rise after over 90 Chinese vessels swarmed the area as Philippine authorities arrested Chinese fishermen who were inside the shoal.
“Just to be clear being a backchannel negotiator is a foreign policy tool of a country to resolve problems that cannot be solved through formal channels of the DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs). This is not illegal,” he said.
He said his authority as backchannel negotiator that time was limited only to the issues at Scarborough Shoal.
He said his “mission” was to ease the tension at Scarborough and the issue of sovereignty over that area was not included as it was clear that the shoal is within the country’s exclusive economic zone, thus it is owned by the Philippines.
He said seven meetings were held in Manila and another seven in China. After a series of meetings, he said the tension in the area eased as the number of Chinese vessels decreased to only three which were then moored outside of Scarborough Shoal.
“This was done even without surrendering an inch of our territory. Sa atin pa rin ang (We still own) Scarborough. In short, na-accomplish ko ang ( I have accomplished my) mission ko… An invasion or an armed conflict with a regional power was averted through those backchannel talks,” he said.
He said Aquino was forced to file a case before the Permanent Court of Arbitration when China refused to pull out its three remaining ships at Scarborough Shoal, which was eventually won by the Philippines in 2016.
Trillanes added that Aquino would not have filed an arbitration case if the country’s interests in Scarborough have been given up.
In Duterte’s case, he said, China has been saying it has an agreement with the former president not to assert the arbitral ruling. “That is treason,” he added.
NO SURPRISE
Senate deputy minority leader Risa Hontiveros said Roque’s revelations “are not at all surprising” since the former president “always kowtowed to Beijing.”
“Putting his relationship with China first before our national interest. That much was clear during his presidency,” she said in a statement.
Senate majority leader Joel Villanueva filed a resolution expressing the strong sense of the Senate condemning the continued harassment of China on Philippine vessels in the West Philippine Sea, while urging the government to exhaust all legal means and diplomatic countermeasures against Beijing to assert the country’s sovereign rights in the WPS.
“China’s actions and response to the recent incident in the West Philippine Sea are concerning considering the agreements reached between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and President Xi Jinping in San Francisco last November 2023 to ease and manage tensions, and the discussions during the 8th Bilateral Consultation Mechanism on the South China Sea last 17 January 2024 wherein both sides agreed to calmly deal with incidents through diplomacy and committed to avoid escalation of tensions in Ayungin Shoal,” Villanueva said in the resolution. — With Raymond Africa
