"This is simply unacceptable."
"This is simply unacceptable."
Under international maritime law, it is the obligation of a ship to come to the rescue of another ship in distress. More so if that particular ship was the cause of the sinking of the other vessel.
Off Palawan coast last week, a Chinese vessel collided with a Filipino fishing boat in the area of Recto or Reed bank in the West Philippine Sea. But instead of stopping to come to the succor of the F/B Gimber and its crew, the Chinese vessel fled the scene of the collision.
The Philippine fishing boat was anchored in Philippine waters when rammed by the Chinese ship, which some of the 22-member Filipino crew described as an armed patrol boat.
This is true to form of the Chinese who also won’t recognize the arbitration ruling of The Hague international court awarding the West Philippine Sea as part of the country’s 200 mile-exclusive economic zone.
This atrocious behavior which can be compared to a hit-and-run accident on the road is simply unacceptable. So why does the Duterte government continue to think highly of China as a friend? For weeks, several Chinese patrol boats were deployed in the area fencing the waters to prevent Filipino fishermen from plying their trade.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana denounced the action of the Chinese for leaving the distressed Filipinos and their fishing boat to the mercy of the elements. Secretary of Foreign Affairs Teodoro Locsin Jr. also condemned the Chinese for failing to rescue the Filipino fishermen and said the incident will be the subject of a diplomatic protest.
But if other Philippine diplomatic protests were either ignored or belittled by Beijing, this latest one will probably go the same way.
Perhaps it’s time for the Philippines to act more strongly against China’s bullying of our people. We are not suggesting declaring war on our giant neighbor across the South China Sea. But buying weapons from the United States to boost the country’s defense capability comparable to US allies Japan, South Korea and Taiwan could make China think twice about annexing the Philippines as a province of China. China could not do it over Taiwan and with its present problems with Hong Kong Chinese, China will have to think twice about provoking the US. The Chinese in Hong Kong have mounted a defiant demonstration in the streets to protest a proposal to extradite to the Chinese mainland Hong Kong Chinese who commit a crime in the former British crown colony.
The protests could reach the proportion of the Tiananmen Square scale which was marked a week ago.
There are skeptics who doubt whether the United States would come to the aid of the Philippines if attacked under the US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty. My take on the matter: US allies Japan, Taiwan and South Korea are closely watching developments in the South China Sea. It would be a loss of faith on US defense pledges if it does not fulfill its obligations under the PHL-US MDT.
This, plus the fact that the US needs Clark Air Base and Subic Naval Station in the event of a realignment of forces against China, North Korea Russia and Iran.
While the US no longer relies on permanent basing in other countries, transit points for refueling and a place for weapons storage are still needed by the world’s military superpower.. Not to come to the aid of the Philippines would be for the US to yield to China the vast oil, gas and minerals under the South China Sea. That is what the whole dispute in the SCS is all about—the vast potential of fuel that can sustain another country’s agenda for domination in the region.
The trade war between the US and a rising China is a sidebar to a collision course that could unsettle the peace and security of countries in the Southeast Asian region.