SENATOR Erwin Tulfo on Wednesday said he would ask his colleagues to “tone down” their verbal attacks against Chinese officials as the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said stoking the world war could affect the ongoing negotiations for a code of conduct (COC) in the South China Sea.
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said on Tuesday that supporting China’s claims in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) while undermining the Philippines’ position is tantamount to treason.
Tulfo, the new chairperson of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, issued the statement following his meeting with Foreign Affairs Secretary Theresa Lazaro earlier in the day.
“It’s okay. We keep on saying that (the West Philippine Sea) is ours. That’s true. We cannot just clam up about it” Tulfo told reporters in a chance interview.
“‘Maybe, we don’t have to make it personal. But still we are going to review that. I will talk with Senators (Risa) Hontiveros at (Francis) Pangilinan regarding that matter. Perhaps, next week, we’ll go down, talk with the national Security Council who sometimes comes out with personal views” Tulfo said in mixed Filipino-English.
He said that slowing down did not mean limiting their sentiments, but instead, keeping discussions issue-based.
Tulfo also said the Code of Conduct involved claimants on portions of the disputed South China Sea—Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam, and the Philippines.
He said he also consulted with Lazaro on the possibility of setting up a meeting with Chinese ambassador to the Philippines Jing Quan.
The senator said he would push for Filipino fishermen to freely fish in Philippine waters. .
“But I believe there is already an ongoing negotiation. But I cannot say what’s going on. However, there’s a continuing dialogue between the Chinese embassy and our Foreign Affairs,” he added.
Commodore Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesperson for the WPS, issued the statement following debates between elected officials on the WPS and “crude” remarks made by the Chinese Embassy in Manila.
“The instability and rising tension of the South China Sea is rooted in the PRC’s (People’s Republic of China) interest and greed,” Tarriela said.
He noted that the situation in the South China Sea (SCS) and the WPS “will not unfold according to the People’s Republic of China’s propaganda playbook and bullying tactics.”
“Each infringement and provocation by Beijing in the WPS will be exposed to the international community to show how they disrupt the regional stability and blatantly violate the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and international law,” Tarriela said.
He assured the public that the government will continue to uphold the country’s sovereign territory.
“The Philippines will not be swayed by China because President (Ferdinand) Bongbong Marcos (Jr.) will never surrender a square inch of our territory to any foreign power, and we will not yield!” he said.
On Monday, Senators Francis Pangilinan and Rodante Marcoleta argued over the coordinates of the WPS, particularly the Philippines’ 200 nautical miles exclusive economic zone (EEZ) that was defined based on the 2016 arbitral ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.
Marcoleta claimed “there has not been any specific computation or coordinates of the WPS.”
However, Pangilinan highlighted the 2016 arbitral ruling affirming the Philippine sovereignty over around 500,000 square kilometers of the SCS.
The same ruling also rejected China’s nine-dash line claim that covered a significant part of the WPS.
