By: Beting Laygo Dolor, Contributing Editor
The overwhelming majority of the Philippine Senate may be allied with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr but that did not stop them from defying his wish to let the executive handle the country’s problem of Chinese intrusions into Philippine territorial waters. The Senate last week unanimously adopted a resolution condemning China’s frequent incursions into the West Philippine Sea and its continued harassment of Filipino fishermen as well as the Philippine Coast Guard and Navy.
The measure further exhorted the Philippine government to take whatever action was necessary to assert its sovereign rights over the country’s exclusive economic zone. Senate Resolution 718 called on China to stop its “illegal activities” and abide by the 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration that stated that the Philippines was the rightful ruler of the WPS based on the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea, or UNCLOS.
The Senate held a closed door meeting last Monday when its members discussed the problem with China with the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Armed Forces of the Philippines. The meeting came after minority Sen. Risa Hontiveros filed a resolution urging the DFA to bring China’s constant aggression to the UN General Assembly.
Senate President Migz Zubiri had been supportive of Hontiveros and the two had hammered out a resolution that drew the support of all the senators except independent Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, who once served as Foreign Affairs secretary and who warned that bringing the case to the UNGA could have a negative result.
Cayetano warned that the Philippines could be outvoted owing to the large number of nations closely allied with China. Such a potential loss could undermine the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling favoring the Philippines.
Zubiri said the final resolution had not been “watered down” as some had suggested but actually strengthened Hontiveros’ original resolution. Foreign Affairs Sec. Enrique Manalo supported this by stating that Hontiveros’ call to bring the matter to the UNGA was still “on the table.”
The Philippines has received support from a number of its allies including the US, Australia, Japan, and the European Union, among others. China had been insisting that the WPS was actually part of the South China Sea based on what it says is the so-called Nine Dash Line found in old Chinese maps.
Days earlier, President Marcos had sought to dismiss the original resolution filed by Hontiveros on the grounds that bringing up the issue before the UN was a decision best left to the Executive department, which he heads.
The adopted resolution gives the Marcos administration the leeway to take any of a series of actions to stop China’s aggressive actions. For one, it invites international attention to China’s actions which are a continuing violation of the Hague ruling and the UNCLOS. For another, it utilizes international for a to rally multilateral support for the enforcement of the Hague ruling.
Most of all, it can lead to the filing of a resolution before the UN General Assembly which would call for the end to all Chinese activities that harass Philippine vessels. The DFA is expected to take the lead and discuss the next steps to take with the president.
As for the Senate majority, a meeting with Marcos is expected to take place this week where they will explain why they feel so strongly about the need to act against China.
The 24-member Philippine Senate is comprised of 20 who belong to the majority comprised of several parties under one umbrella, two minority lawmakers in Hontiveros and Sen. Koko Pimentel, and two independents, siblings Alan Peter and Pia Cayetano, who usually huddle with the majority.
