The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said on Sunday it is looking forward to more joint patrols in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) next year, with other countries seeking peace and stability in Southeast Asia.
AFP spokesperson Col. Medel Aguilar said the Philippines this year conducted joint air and maritime patrols with the United States and Australia, and is hoping to do the same with Japan and other countries next year.
“The President said that we’re just starting and there will be more to come. So expect that it won’t just be bilateral patrols. Later on, it may become multilateral patrols, meaning, they will involve several countries,” Aguilar said on radio dzBB.
The President earlier this month said the country needs to change its strategy for countering Chinese aggression in the WPS because diplomatic efforts are making “very little progress.”
The President also said that the current diplomatic efforts with China are heading “in a poor direction.”
For the AFP’s part, Aguilar said that they want to strengthen the alliances with other countries to make the Philippines’ stance in the WPS stronger.
“It is about establishing [and] strengthening our alliances with foreign countries so that our voice will be stronger and that we are also able to strengthen legal procedures that will advance our interest and at the same time, regional peace and stability,” he said.
“We are still staying on the diplomatic track, but it will be an invigorated one. We are looking forward to having a really strong alliance with other countries and I think we are already gaining ground on this matter,” he added.
Senator JV Ejercito, meanwhile, said it is outright wrong for China to claim to be “properly managing maritime differences through dialogue and consultation.”
In fact, China is harassing Philippine operations within the country’s exclusive economic zone.
“Who is using water cannons to obstruct and prevent our Filipino vessels during our resupply mission?” Ejercito said.
“Who has been bullying and violating international maritime laws over the past months in our sovereign waters? It is none other than China,” he said.
He urged China to halt President Xi Jinping’s expansionist policies to prevent potential conflicts.
“We hope that China honors the verdict of the Hague-based tribunal, constituted under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which ruled that China’s claim of historical rights within its nine-dash line lacks any legal foundation,” Ejercito said.
The bottom line, he said, is to respect Philippine sovereignty and leave its territorial waters alone.
“We can only achieve peace and a sound relationship between China and the Philippines if both countries acknowledge each other’s maritime rights.”
In this case, the senator said, it is essential to recognize that the West Philippines Sea belongs to the Philippines.
Earlier, the Chinese Embassy spokesperson in the Philippines said in the past few months, some Filipino politicians and officials, out of political self-interest, repeatedly dramatized and hyped maritime differences between China and the Philippines, aiming to smear and demonize China and silencing the advocates of China-Philippines friendship.
Also over the weekend, Senator Francis Escudero said it is in the best interest of both China and the Philippines to continue to favor dialogue over confrontation.
He said the war mongers are simply “playing to the crowd,” knowing that it is a popular issue.
“But have they brought their war-mongering to its logical conclusion – which is war? Is that really what they want? ” he said.
“Why are we so afraid of dialogue when we don’t really have to give up or agree to anything unless it is in accordance with our sovereignty and national interest in the WPS?” he added.
“Words never killed anyone but actions, assumptions, instigation and offensive conduct certainly can… many have died due to failure to talk,” Escudero said.
On the other hand, Senator Aquilino Pimentel III said China should understand that the Philippines, being a sovereign nation, has its own territorial sovereignty concerns and maritime rights and interests.
“We should also both realize, the sooner the better, that we really have contrasting positions,” said Pinentel.
Because of this, the Senate leader said, people should expect each party to act in accordance with its best interests.
“But being both responsible members of the United Nations, both parties must act in accordance with the spirit on why the UN was created in the first place as well as the letter of the UN Charter and the many other treaties meant to promote regional and world peace,” he said.
