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Lorenzana: More ships sent to patrol West Philippine Sea

Philstar.com

March 28, 2021 | 10:23am

Lorenzana: More ships sent to patrol West Philippine Sea

This handout satellite imagery taken on March 23, 2021 and received on March 25 from Maxar Technologies shows Chinese vessels anchored at the Whitsun Reef, around 320 kilometres (175 nautical miles) west of Bataraza in Palawan in the South China Sea. Chinese vessels gathered near a disputed reef in the South China Sea are "fishing boats" sheltering from poor weather, the foreign ministry said March 22, a day after the Philippines described their presence as an incursion.

MANILA, Philippines — Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said late Saturday night that the government is addressing the situation in the Julian Felipe Reef in the West Philippine Sea and has sent out ships to patrol the area.

To recall, a report released by US-based Simularity found that hundreds of Chinese vessels have been "mooring, arriving and departing" in Julian Felipe (Whitsun) Reef in the West Philippine Sea since December of last year.

The Chinese Embassy has denied the presence of militia ships in the area, saying these were fishing vessels seeking shelter from bad weather. It also asserted ownership over the reef despite a 2016 arbitral ruling that its nine-dash-line claim covering a large part of the South China Sea has no basis in international law.

"We stand by our position calling for the immediate withdrawal of the Chinese vessels in the Julian Felipe Reef which has been communicated to the Chinese Ambassador," Lorenzana said in a statement in response to the findings.

"We are ready to defend our national sovereignty and protect the marine resources of the Philippines. Thus, there will be an increased presence of the Philippine Navy and Philippine Coast Guard ships to conduct sovereignty patrols and protect our fishermen in the West Philippine Sea," he also said.

The defense chief added that vessels of the navy and coast guard have already been deployed to monitor the situation in the area, while the Philippine Air Force deploys airfcraft "every day with the same mission."

"Our air and sea assets are ready to protect our sovereignty and sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea and the Kalayaan Island Group," Lorenzana said, adding that the Department of National Defense is "consistently coordinating" with other government agencies on efforts in the West Philippine Sea.

"By securing the West Philippine Sea and its islands in the Kalayaan area, the Philippines reinforces its commitment to keeping the freedom of navigation and maintaining regional peace and stability."

Why does this matter?

Earlier Wednesday, retired Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio surmised that Beijing was appeasing the Philippines by donating COVID-19 vaccines while its maritime militia swarms.
The Department of Foreign Affairs has also slammed China for its lingering presence in Philippine waters, calling it a blatant infringement of the country's sovereign rights, and jurisdiction.
Progressive groups, including fisherfolks' federation Pamalakaya and farmers' group Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas demanded the national government to take a bolder stance against the Chinese incursion, as well as be more transparent about meetings with China's ambassadors.
To this day, Beijing continues to reject the arbitral ruling that the Philippines won in The Hague in 2016 based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which held that China's sweeping nine-dash line claim has no legal basis.
President Rodrigo Duterte has asserted that he cannot do anything on the maritime dispute as doing so, he claimed, would mean going to war with them.
Other members of the Phillippine delegation in the South China Sea arbitration have already said that enforcing the arbitral win does not necessarily mean going to war with Beijing, suggesting other possible measures to uphold the ruling.