Palace denies confusing WPS policy, says no need to convene National Security Council
MANILA, Philippines — There is no need to convene the National Security Council, Malacañang said Thursday as it dismissed calls on the government to come up with a "clear and united" stand on the West Philippine Sea.
"[T]here is nothing confusing about President [Rodrigo Duterte's] stand on the West Philippine Sea," palace spokesman Harry Roque said in Filipino during his regular briefing.
"Actually, the president already mentioned this to me, and the problem with the [NSC] is that nothing is resolved there when he attends [meetings]," he added. "So, if necessary he is considering inviting former presidents and personalities to have a meeting to discuss the issue."
Duterte invited former Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile to attend a meeting that televised Monday night to discuss the West Philippine Sea. They exchanged compliments throughout their discussion.
Enrile, a former Senate president and former defense secretary to President Ferdinand Marcos, is facing a P172.83-million plunder case at the Sandiganbayan anti-graft court. He was granted bail due to his age and health.
Former senator, AFP chief: 'We are confused and that is dangerous'
Roque was responding to former Sen. Rodolfo Biazon who traveled to the Senate Wednesday to urge lawmakers to pass a resolution calling for the convening of the NSC in order to address what he called the "confusing" position of the country on the issue.
"[R]ight now, we are confused and that is dangerous," a statement from Biazon, a former chief of the armed forces, is quoted in a report from the Inquirer. "We are not only confusing ourselves, we are also confusing potential allies in our pursuit of our national interests in the area."
Biazon also warned that Beijing might "mount a dangerous move" if it believes that Manila has given up its claim in the West Philippine Sea or the part of the South China Sea within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone.
Sen. Grace Poe on Wednesday echoed Biazon's call to convene the NSC, saying it is "high time that the whole of government comes up with a clear and united stand on the West Philippine Sea issue."
"We cannot be divided as a nation when we talk about our sovereignty," she said. "Protecting territorial integrity is so vital to a country's survival that we must not confuse it with friendship or utang na loob (indebtedness)."
"This is the country's resources we are talking about," Poe stressed.
"There shouldn't be any debate as to whether we should protect it or not. There is only one constitutional answer—we should. The only thing left for us to discuss now is how."
What is the current stance on the West Philippine Sea?
Duterte has repeatedly disparaged the country's 2016 arbitral award in the West Philippine Sea. He also insists that asserting the Philippines' claim in the area would lead to war with China, a widely disputed claim.
The president also routinely invokes "utang an loob" or indebtedness to China as he continues to push warmer ties with the regional power.
Despite this, his alter egos insist that his speech at the 75th United Nations General Assembly acknowledging the award is the supreme expression of policy on the issue.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. and Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana have been outspoken amid Beijing's repeated incursions in the West Philippine Sea, both entering heated word wars with Chinese officials.
But on Monday, Duterte barred his Cabinet from discussing tensions with China over the West Philippine Sea in public, saying only Roque would be allowed to do so from now on.
Roque later clarified that Locsin, who has told the palace spokesman to "lay off" commenting on foreign policy, would be allowed to discuss the matter in public too.
The spokesman on Thursday also reiterated the country's stance on the dispute with China over the West Philippine Sea, saying in Filipino: "What cannot be agreed upon, will be set aside first. Things that can be advanced such as trade and investment will be advanced."
"But we will never give up territory and we will stand and protect national sovereignty and our sovereign rights."
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