Sen. Joel Villanueva on April 1 filed Senate Resolution number 980, expressing the Senate strongly condemning the unprovoked aggression, continued harassment and illegal and dangerous actions in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) by the China Coast Guard (CCG) and the Chinese Maritime Militia.
Villanueva’s resolution also urges and supports the Executive branch of the government to exert all legal and diplomatic countermeasures against China.
The moves, he noted, will assert and secure the country’s sovereign rights in the WPS.
He cited that on July 12, 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) ruled in favor of the Philippines in its historic case against the People’s Republic of China (Case number 2013-19) over the WPS.
He noted that the landmark PCA award rejected China’s expansive claims to historic and sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the resources and maritime areas in the WPS covered in its “nine-dash line,” which the PCA held as contrary to the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).”
The PCA also ruled the Chinese government breached its obligations under international law for encroaching on the maritime entitlements of other coastal states, including the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and extended continental shelf (ECS) of the Philippines.
Almost eight years after the PCA award, China has, on numerous occasions, continued to assert its claim over and build its presence in the WPS.
Villanueva emphasized that in doing so, China has threatened the national security, marine resources, and the people of the Philippines.
In the aftermath of the PCA award, the Philippines lodged several diplomatic protests over the continued presence of Chinese ships within the Philippine EEZ.
Chinese vessels have also reportedly harvested marine resources in the area and barred Filipino fisherfolk from areas within the country’s EEZ.
“In clear violation of the WPS (EEZ). China repeatedly blocked the Philippines’ re-supply missions to the marooned BRP Sierra Madre in the second Thomas Shoal or Ayungin Shoal, which serves as the outpost of the Philippine Military in the area.”
Last August 1, 2023, the Senate adopted Resolution number 79 condemning the continued harassment of Filipino fishermen and the persistent incursions in the WPS by the CCG and militia vessels.
“Should China continue to ignore the Department of Foreign Affairs’ efforts to hold dialogues with the Chinese government and harassment still persist, (the) adapted Senate Resolution number 79 urges the DFA to bring international attention to these incidences and rally international support for the enforcement of the PCA Award, among others.”
In its latest act of unprovoked aggression in the WPS last March 23, CCG harassed and used water cannons against the wooden Unaizah May 4 (UM4), a Philippine resupply boat that was en route to the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal.
According to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the “dangerous maneuvers against a legitimate and routine Philippine Rotation and Reprovisioning of troops (RoRe) mission to Ayungin shoal, have once again placed at risk, caused severe damage to property, and caused physical harm to Filipinos on board UM4.” The resupply boat sustained heavy damages from the direct blast of water cannons, which prevented it from going on with its mission.
The AFP said they were still able to bring personnel and essential cargo to BRP Sierra Madre through a rigid-hulled inflatable boat.
It noted that the Chinese Maritime Militia deployed and installed floating barriers to prevent further entry of any vessels in the Ayungin Shoal.
According to the senator, on the same day, another incident of harassment at sea by the Chinese was reported near Pag-Asa island. The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources reported that a Chinese helicopter hovered dangerously close to a group of Filipino scientists from the University of the Philippines’ Institute of Biology and National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (UP-NFRDI) doing research work on a sand bar called Sandy Cay.
The scientists struggled to keep the boat steady and one of them almost drowned while the extent of other injuries were not reported.
“The foregoing acts of aggression and the Chinese government’s response display a pattern that has been consistently employed by China, notwithstanding the PCA award and the provisions of the UNCLOS. As in previous incidences, the People’s Republic of China has continued to ignore the PCA award and deny the harassment and intimidation claims of the Philippines,” said the senator.
He also cited the warning of Beijing to Manila on March 23, that it “should be prepared to bear all potential consequences” if it “insists on going its own way.”
China’s foreign ministry spokesperson said the Philippines “(intruded) into the adjacent waters of Ren’ai Jiao of China’s Nansha Qundao” – their names for Ayungin Shoal and the Spratlys. China’s Ministry of Defense also released a statement on March 28 which said Manila’s “harassment and provocations (were) the immediate cause of the recent escalation of the South China Sea issue.”
“China’s actions and response to the recent incident in the WPS are concerning considering the agreements reached between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and President Xi Jinping in San Francisco last November 2023 to ease and manage tensions, and the discussions during the 8th Bilateral Consultation Mechanism on the South China Sea last January 17, wherein both sides agreed to calmly deal with incidents through diplomacy and committed to avoid escalation of tensions in the Ayungin Shoal.