Former Foreign Affairs chief Albert del Rosario underscored the need to hold the Chinese government accountable for the sinking of a Filipino fishing vessel and abandoning its crew of 22 near Reed Bank, a shallow reef inside the territorial waters of the country some 50 nautical miles off Palawan.
“What is obvious is that Goliath, the neighborhood bully, will continue to rear its ugly head to intimidate our poor fishermen. We need to find a way to hold China's leadership accountable,” del Rosario said.
“We must accept that Beijing has absolutely no respect for the rule of law,” he added.
Del Rosario said the government should consider a multilateral approach to address China's actions in the West Philippine Sea.
“We must also now consider a multilateral approach. For instance, how much longer must our people wait for our government to seek a resolution from the UN General Assembly to promote our arbitral tribunal outcome which is now an integral part of international law?”