Youth organization KALikha: Kasama ka sa Paglikha ng Arte at Literatura Para sa Bayan based in UP Diliman continues with its initiatives to resist Chinese aggression in Philippine territories.
On Tuesday, KALikha sounded the alarms that it will be launching and holding several activities to bolster its campaigns to promote national sovereignty amid the various “aggressions” of China. This is on top of their recent call for legislators to investigate the anomalous sale of islands to Chinese conglomerates.
“The most recent docking of a Chinese research vessel off the coast of Catanduanes in January wherein members of the Philippine Coast Guard were not allowed to board the vessel for inspection is just one of the many activities of China to show off their power over us,” Camilo De Guzman, Chairperson of KALikha UPD said in a statement.
“While the concern of avoiding transmission of COVID-19 is valid, it should not have prevented our Coast Guard to still inspect the vessel as there are ways to avoid transmission while doing so. This is clearly an evasion of our exercise of sovereignty in our own territory.”
The vessel involved, Jia Geng, was also seen operating around the West Philippine Sea between April and May 2020.
Reports from the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea added that “Jia Geng conducted an illegal research expedition in Philippine waters after it was found to be performing survey patterns such as “stop-and-go” and “lawnmower” maneuvers and returned repeatedly to Bajo de Masinloc and the Kalayaan Group of Islands.”
The organization is planning to mount a one-day live exhibit and artistic protest and an accompanying online exhibit by the end of March.
The exhibit aims to demonstrate through various art forms and media the types of aggression executed by China and its effects to Filipinos and our sovereignty.
Likewise, National Advocacies and Campaigns Officer Amber Quiban mentioned that they are also planning to conduct an online webinar via Zoom in April to historicize and discuss the political and social implications of incursions similar to the ones that happened in Bajo de Masinloc and Catanduanes.
“We just really want to highlight that these aggressions may not directly affect many of us, but it does affect the livelihood of many Filipinos who have already been relegated to the margins and tough conditions made tougher by the pandemic, and even tougher by the threats posed by Chinese presence on them,” Quiban stated when asked on the motivation behind the initiatives.
When asked on what message activities like this aim to communicate, Danicah Chaves, Chairperson of the UP College of Arts and Letters Freshies, Shiftees, and Transferees Council said: “Ang kalayaang ipinaglaban ng ating mga ninuno ay hindi natin kailanman isusuko. No matter what type of aggression China throws at us, one thing is clear: Hindi tayo magpapa-api.”