MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang said yesterday it was prepared to defend its claims in the South China Sea, but downplayed a plan by Taiwan to deploy missiles in the area.
Department of National Defense spokesman Zosimo Jesus Paredes said the country enjoyed good relations with Taiwan and believed its plan to supply missiles to coastguard units in the areas it claims was not a threat to the Philippines.
“We cannot dictate on Taiwan on what or what not to do,” Paredes told reporters. “For as long as they don’t occupy what we already occupy, we have no problem. Live and let live.”
However, he said Manila was prepared to “defend to the hilt” islets it has already occupied in the Spratlys. He did not elaborate.
China claims all of the South China Sea, including the Spratlys, a group of islands and islets believed to sit atop vast oil and mineral reserves.
Taiwan, Vietnam, Brunei, the Philippines and Malaysia also lay claim to all or part of the Spratlys.
The overlapping claims have been a source of tension in the region, with the United States reiterating a call to all parties last week to peacefully solve the problem following Taiwan’s threat.
“I will have to check but so far, certainly, we don’t have any comment on that issue,” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said over state-run dzRB radio.
In a separate interview, Paredes said Taiwan’s announcement was “surprising.”
“Anyway that’s their (Taiwan) own prerogative. They just should not encroach into other interests so that peace will prevail. If they are just (there) to protect their interest there is no problem. I don’t see any problem there,” he said.
When asked if DND is bothered by Taiwan’s plan, Paredes said: “Well, it’s quite unsettling because it’s something out of the ordinary but nonetheless, they took their own actions and we cannot really stop them from doing that.”
Paredes stressed that all territorial issues should be settled peacefully in the proper forum.
“I think the best way for them (Taiwan) to execute that should they execute it is to make some coordination with their neighboring countries like the Philippines,” Paredes said, adding that the DND does not view Taiwan’s plan as an act of aggression.
“In this relationship, we have to be steadfast. We should not be over reactive. Diplomacy would come into great play here,” the DND spokesperson said.
The military refused to comment on Taiwan’s announcement but reiterated that it is ready to defend the country’s sovereignty.
Armed Forces spokesman Col. Arnulfo Burgos Jr. said the military troops in Palawan would continue to conduct patrol in the West Philippine Sea.
‘Defense missile legitimate’
Taiwan bared last Friday plans to deploy an advanced air defense missile system in its occupied islet in the disputed West Philippine Sea.
A Taiwanese report quoted over the weekend its defense minister, Kao Hua-chu, that their Coast Guard units deployed on Itu Aba Island in the Spratlys now need the Tien Chien I missiles in the area, apparently replacing its 1980s-era Chaparral missiles.
This is Taiwan’s response, the reports said, to its concerns that rival Spratly claimants have been continuously building up their arms in the disputed region.
Taiwanese legislator Lin Yu-fang, who fully supports the plan, said the proposed ground-to-air missile deployment would be legitimate.
Lin cited the ministry’s recent report on the military buildups by Vietnam and other neighboring countries in the area.
He said Vietnam has deployed thousands of Marines in the region with the backing of Russian-made SU-27SK and SU-30KM2 fighter jets, in contrast to the Taiwanese Coast Guard deployed at Itu Aba who are only equipped with 20-mm air defense guns.
The Taiwanese legislator also warned that in the event of a flare-up in the region, the Taiwanese Coast Guard could also hardly defend themselves against the Philippines, whose troops are equipped with naval gunboats.
Kao endorsed a proposal passed by the country’s defense committee Wednesday demanding Coast Guard units on Itu Aba and the Pratas Islands – claimed by China – be armed with Tien Chien I missiles.
Big brother wants restraint
The US earlier appealed for calm after learning that Taiwan had prepared to deploy missiles in the region over concerns that rival claimants to disputed islands are building up their arms.
“We encourage all claimants to resolve their disputes through peaceful means, in accordance with international law and without resorting to the threat or use of force,” Pentagon spokesman George Little told reporters.
The Taiwanese Coast Guard currently has a 130-strong garrison on Itu Aba, the biggest island in the Spratly archipelago. It has a modern military runway aside from military bunkers and houses.
The second biggest island, Pag-Asa, the center of the Kalayaan Island municipality, is occupied by Filipino troops with civilian residents as well.
A local senior security official, who asked not to be named, earlier warned that the exclusion of Taiwan in all the efforts of claimant-countries to resolve the territorial dispute peacefully, presents a major security debacle to the solution of the problem.
“Without Taiwan’s participation in all these talks, there is always a danger of a shooting war breaking out. Not us, nor Vietnam, Malaysia or Brunei starting it, but the Chinese and Taiwanese forces,” he said.
On the other hand, Mayor Eugenio Bito-onon, elected mayor of the Kalayaan Island municipality in the Spratlys, said Itu Aba is already outside of the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
He said Taiwan’s planned deployment of a missile system on the island is not such a big concern for now.
Bito-onon though admitted he was also alarmed by the development, saying he has been monitoring frequent landings of a Taiwanese C-130 Hercules plane on Itu Aba.
“Maybe the Taiwanese government just wants to boost the morale of their troops while at the same time show its resolve to defend its territorial claim,” Bito-onon said.
If the Taiwanese missile deployment pushes through, Bito-onon said local security forces would now be on the lookout for possible incursions of Taiwanese soldiers in the 47 still unoccupied islets near Itu Aba, all within the country’s EEZ. – With Delon Porcalla