MANILA, Philippines - Some quarters have noted that the Philippines can’t win even in pitikan ng ilong – flicking of noses – against China, according to President Aquino. So borrowing a phrase from Britain’s wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Aquino said yesterday, “It’s better to jaw, jaw, jaw than to war, war, war.”
Aquino said that while the Philippines is strongly protesting China’s incursion in Scarborough Shoal, it is acknowledging the preeminence of diplomacy in resolving the standoff involving two Chinese vessels and a Philippine search and rescue ship.
Scarborough, which the Philippines calls Panatag Shoal, lies just 120 nautical miles from Zambales and is well within the country’s 200-mile exclusive economic zone.
“It will be more difficult if we are not talking. And there is a quote from, I think, Churchill – well, it’s attributed to Churchill… It is: ‘Better now to jaw-jaw than to war-war.’ That might be a flippant way of saying it but the minute that you stop talking, (it will be more difficult),” he said.
“We are still in constant touch with them. We are still clarifying… stressing and clarifying and reiterating our respective positions,” the President said.
“We have been ready to protect our sovereignty to the limits of our capabilities. But, again, I will appeal to all of you. Before, it was being stated that in a boxing bout with China, with 1.3 billion (population) and we are 95 million, kahit sa pitikan ng ilong, di tayo mananalo (even in a nose flicking match, we will not win),” he said.
“So what are we going to gain if we dramatize or worsen the situation and enrage each other to the point of (going into war?)” Aquino said.
“Let me remind all of you, in our Constitution, we renounce war as an instrument of national policy and I am bound to follow that,” he said.
Aquino said the Philippines wants the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) – as a dialogue partner of China – to come up with a code of conduct that would dictate the behavior of parties in the West Philippine Sea.
The big difference now, he said, is that the Philippines is no longer opening its exclusive economic zones to joint exploration contracts, as stipulated in the Constitution.
In the ASEAN summit in Cambodia, the President said disputed and non-disputed areas should be clearly defined because only disputed areas could be jointly developed.
He said that even before the Scarborough Shoal incident, China had been claiming the entire West Philippine Sea, citing the nine-dash theory and despite the Philippines’ strong basis for its claims based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to which China is a signatory.
“So how about those who conform with the UNCLOS? How will China take back its declaration without getting embarrassed? And we know that from the start, that is the difficulty,” Aquino said.
He also said the deployment of Navy warship BRP Gregorio del Pilar to Scarborough was not a show of force but an enforcement of maritime laws.
He said the eight Chinese fishing vessels briefly held at Scarborough were found carrying illegally collected corals, giant clams, and live sharks.
Navy personnel who boarded the fishing vessels took photos of the catch.
The President said both the Philippines and China were signatories to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention.
“The point is, in fairness to China and our case also, the Philippine Navy vessel has been withdrawn for quite a number of days already, as soon as the Coast Guard arrived,” Aquino said.
The President said the Coast Guard vessel will continue to station a vessel in Scarborough Shoal.
When asked why the Chinese fishermen were allowed to leave with their illegal catch, Aquino said “would it be good if we send all our maritime vessels, prevent the Chinese maritime surveillance vessels that are unarmed and force China to react by sending their own military forces?
“Would the escalation serve the national interest? That is the only question,” he said.
“I suppose the first vessel that we have at the area was a Philippine Navy vessel and, as soon as possible, we dispatched the Coast Guard vessel which is, as you know, a civilian component – it is under the DOTC (Department of Transportation and Communications), it’s not even a (Department of National Defense)-attached entity or agency – just to demonstrate that we want to de-escalate the situation. Let me emphasize, to de-escalate the situation,” Aquino said.
“We are in constant touch (with the Chinese embassy),” the President said, clarifying earlier reports that he had talked with Chinese Ambassador to Manila Ma Keqing.
“I hadn’t talked to Ambassador Ma. It was always through the secretary of Foreign Affairs. And, right now, since the secretary of Foreign Affairs is in America for various conferences that had previously been scheduled, it’s Undersecretary Linda Basilio who will be talking to Ambassador Ma. So we’re continuing that dialogue,’ Aquino said.
“We haven’t stopped exploring all of the other avenues. We have raised our points during the last ASEAN summit regarding this. And we are still steadfast that we have two missions – one, not to escalate the situation; and, two, to protect our sovereignty,” the President said.
He also emphasized that there was no connection between the US-Philippine Balikatan exercises and the Scarborough incident.
“There is no benefit if, during the time that we are de-escalating the situation, we will place something there that has the potential of being complained by both parties,” Aquino said. “I’m hopeful that reasonable people… can come up with a situation that will resolve the situation.”
Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, before leaving for the US Sunday to attend a conference, said the Philippines is sticking to diplomacy in resolving the Scarborough issue even if it remains unyielding in its position that the area is Philippine territory.
He said the Philippines should take action following China’s redeployment of one of its ships to Scarborough. But he did not specify what action to take.
“Whatever it may be, we would wish to diffuse current challenge but would need to defend our sovereignty and sovereign rights,” Del Rosario told The STAR.
New ship
Meanwhile, the Coast Guard has deployed another ship to Scarborough to relieve the BRP Pampanga.
Lt. Gen. Anthony Alcantara, Northern Luzon (Nolcom) commander, said that BRP EDSA DOS (SAR-002) arrived in the vicinity yesterday morning.
The Pampanga was en route to Manila’s South Harbor for re-provisioning.
Two Chinese vessels – Zhonggou Haijan 75 and Zhonggou Haijan 84 – are still in the area.
Alcantara, however, described the situation in Scarborough yesterday as generally peaceful.
For his part, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Jessie Dellosa admitted that the country’s military was in “tumultuous times.”
“It is common knowledge to everyone that we are in the midst of tumultuous times in terms of internal security. As threats from within were addressed swiftly and thoroughly, we remain in a shadow of doubt pertaining to certain international issues,” Dellosa said, without directly referring to the standoff at Scarborough.
“It is imperative for our ground forces to sustain operational readiness, keeping in mind the critical times that we are in now,” he said.
The Navy, for its part, said it is ready to assist the Coast Guard in asserting the country’s territorial rights over Scarborough.
“The Navy is basically on standby on whatever instructions will be given to us... we cannot make the decision on our (own) at this level. We leave it to the higher authorities and we will comply with whatever instructions are given,” Navy chief Rear Admiral Alexander Pama said.
Pama was responding to questions on whether the Navy would send another ship to the shoal to relieve the one deployed in the area.
Pama said the Navy’s largest warship Gregorio del Pilar is ready to perform whatever directive would be given to it.
Pama said the Del Pilar is in Poro Point in La Union to load supplies and provisions.
“My boys need rest,” he said, referring to the officers and crew of the warship.
“We are continuously monitoring the situation in the area, As of this time, (the situation is) very stable, very normal,” Alcantara said. With Jaime Laude, Alexis Romero, Evelyn Macairan, Pia Lee-Brago