A former Philippine Navy flag officer-in-command on Monday said that any Filipino leader who agrees to surrender the government’s authority over any part of the country’s territory to a foreign power in writing or as part of a verbal “gentlemen’s agreement” has committed an act of treason.
Retired Vice Admiral Eduardo Santos, the Navy chief who ordered that the BRP Sierra Madre be ran aground in 1999 to serve as a naval outpost in the disputed Ayungin Shoal, defended the Philippine government’s inalienable right to maintain bases within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Now president of the Maritime Academy of Asia and the Pacific (MAAP), Santos said an administration that would allow the 328-foot vessel to rot in disrepair is working against the Philippines’ best interest.
“The very presence of that ship there (Ayungin Shoal) asserts Philippine sovereignty over that area. When we left it there 25 years ago, it was old but it was in working condition and it was habitable. But it has to be maintained to keep it from falling apart,” he noted.
On Thursday, retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said that former President Rodrigo Duterte acted beyond his authority when he, in a conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping, agreed to withhold the delivery of materials that would keep the beached ship afloat.
The issue was ignited by former presidential spokesman Harry Roque’s revelation of the “gentlemen’s agreement” between Duterte and Xi.
Meanwhile, Santos said Malacañang’s creation of a National Maritime Council would potentially soothe the anxieties of the domestic merchant marine industry, arising from China’s growing aggression in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
He pointed out that the existence of such a high-level advisory body reassures the commercial shipping sector that the government is willing to exhaust all means at its disposal to protect their crew and vessels from hostile elements within internationally recognized Philippine territorial waters.
“Such a high-level council can help the President consider all angles of the problem… helping him to arrive at reasonable and beneficial decisions that best reflect the interests of the (merchant marine) industry and the nation,” the retired navy chief added.
Santos said the domestic maritime industry is putting its faith on the Marcos administration’s ability to protect the country’s sea lanes and ensure that the free flow of goods remain unencumbered despite China’s expansionist ambitions.
He also pointed out that the newly-formed council can advise Congress to finally push through with the long-delayed legislation that will finally and clearly delineate the Philippines’ archipelagic sea lanes.
Previous administrations failed to lead the way for the enactment of a law that would set maritime zones, which would serve as the Philippine government’s legal basis to limit the movement of foreign vessels within the country’s EEZ, according to the former navy chief.
