Malacañang on Thursday said the President will “never give away even an inch of territory” as the country filed a diplomatic protest against China after its Navy reportedly harassed Filipino troops conducting resupply missions on Ayungin Shoal on May 11.
“The President, who is the chief architect of the nation’s foreign policy, will not sit on our rights and will never give away even an inch of territory,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque said.
“The current administration has acted on incidents which occurred in the disputed areas over the West Philippine Sea by taking diplomatic actions with China. Indeed, we will resort to all diplomatic initiatives when warranted but without fanfare,” he added.
The Palace statement came as eight senators urged the Department of Foreign Affairs to file a diplomatic protest over the increasing militarization of the South China Sea by China.
The signatories, mostly opposition senators, said the government must not allow China to continue posing a threat to Philippine interests in the West Philippine Sea and the security of the region.
“The Philippines has sovereignty over Kagitingan and Zamora Reefs, as well as exclusive sovereign rights over Panganiban Reef as decided by the Permanent Court of Arbitration,” the senators said.
The West Philippine Sea is that portion of the South China Sea over which the Philippines has claims, they added.
The senators said US intelligence sources reported that China had installed anti-ship cruise missiles and surface-to-air missile systems on Kagitingan Reef, Subi Reef, and Panganiban Reef, which all belong to the Philippines.
Furthermore, they noted that the existing mechanisms being pursued by the government had not been adequate to prevent the actions of China and said the filing of a diplomatic protest was well within the rights of the government and upholds the primacy of diplomacy over the use of force under international law.
“Should the government refuse or fail to file a diplomatic protest, such refusal or failure may be interpreted as an abandonment of our claim over the West Philippine Sea, which has been upheld by the Permanent Court of Arbitration,” the senators said.
The senators quoted acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio who said that “failure to formally protest means the Philippines is acquiescing or consenting to the militarization, and worse, to the claim of China that all islands, waters, and resources within the nine-dash line form part of the Chinese territory.”
The signatories to the resolution were Senators Francis Pangilinan, Paolo Benigno Aquino IV, Risa Hontiveros, Antonio Trillanes IV, Joseph Victor Ejercito, Leila de Lima, Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, and President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto.