The face-off in the Spratlys

Bravo, Mrs. President! It’s about time our government steps up to claim our islands. Signing Republic Act 9522 or the Philippine Archipelagic Baseline Law will hopefully ensure international recognition of the country’s baselines or boundaries. It reaffirms the Philippines claim to its territorial waters, including its extended continental shelf, economic zones, the disputed Kalayaan Island Group (Spratly Islands) off Palawan province and the Scarborough Shoal in the country’s western seaboard. Aside from the Philippines, the disputed regime of islands is also claimed by Taiwan, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei.

But if we are going to talk big about the claim to the Kalayaan Islands, we should acquire better navy and air force vessels and equipment to protect our shores. We used to have the US Bases in our soil with their state of the art and modern machineries at Subic Naval Base and Clark Air Base. They served as a buffer against any enemy aggression. But we kicked the Yanks out, and we’re on our own now. So, we need to summon up the purse and the will to carry our own weight in the Asian concert of nations. The recently approved budget for the Department of National Defense amounting to P56.5 billion unless misused will hopefully buy good military, air force and navy equipment that can protect our islands and shores from pirates.

I remember in 1995, there was a Philippine-Chinese confrontation at Mischief Reef because two Chinese fishing vessels had cut across our area. China had two warships on the horizon that frightened Major General Tanega (PAF), chief of the AFP’s Western Command during that time. Our own navy vessel Benguet looked so pathetic and depressing and when the Major called for Air Force assistance, they sent two Italian-made 211s, slow moving planes used for training purposes. They could not provide a high-powered jet to swat even the smallest Chinese warship.

Right now we are a sardine swimming in a sea of sharks and barracudas, but an “armored” sardine will be more difficult to swallow than a defenseless guppy.

By the way, the RA 9522 was enacted in time to meet the deadline on May 13 set by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS) for countries and archipelagic states to submit their respective claims to their extended continental shelf. The Department of Foreign Affairs explained that UNCLOS did not exist yet when the old law, RA 3046, which defined the country’s baselines was signed. UNCLOS came about only in 1994. It excludes the disputed Kalayaan Group of Islands and Scarborough Shoal from the archipelago, but treats these as part of a “regime of islands.”

House Representatives Satur Ocampo and Teodoro Casiño say that this act is essentially a sellout of Philippine sovereignty. Nueva Ecija Representative Joson says the Filipinos are at a disadvantage with this law. Are they thinking that the Arroyo government maybe planning a tactical move to deceive its own people?

* * *

Last week, there was a picture of a miner working for Canada TVI Pacific carrying a gold and silver bar weighing 19 kilograms. It reminded me of the dangers that go with mining, which I hope our government considers to put a stop to instead of peddling our mines to different countries.

Mining operations in our country has destroyed natural habitats, uprooted indigenous peoples, has caused deforestation and threatened rice production and local fisheries. Furthermore, it has threatened people’s health and environmental safety through the dumping of waste in rivers and seas. It has destroyed mangrove forests and damaged corals.

The Philippines is in danger of losing much of its rich biodiversity. It is one of the 17 countries in the world to be categorized as a mega-biodiversity country. It is also a geo-hazard hotspot, prone to typhoons, earthquakes, landslides and volcanic eruptions. Its environmental sustainability is already under serious threat with the UNDP highlighting the urgent need to properly manage the country’s natural resources.

Clare Short from the United Kingdom, House of Commons made a report on this issue and said, “Having visited many developing countries and seen many places where environmental degradation or destructive development has damaged the livelihoods of people, I was nevertheless deeply shocked by the negative impact of mining in the Philippines…The World Bank support for an expansion of destructive mining in the Philippines is also a matter of great concern. The substantial provision of funding given to the World Bank by UK taxpayers is a matter that should be taken up by parliamentarians and the Department for International Development.”

The Mining Act 1995 which opened the country to foreign mining companies with emphasis on export-driven mining based foreign investments worsened the situation. I think it should be revisited and repealed to balance its effects in the country. I wonder why mining companies who have failed to comply with national law and international standards are still operating. The Government should show us how faithful they are in protecting our land through their willingness to adhere to the law. They should immediately refuse all mining applications which would damage our watersheds, ecosystems, agriculture or fisheries or lead to serious social problems.

President Arroyo’s “Mining Revitalization Program” is encouraging further the entry and operation of large-scale mining. Alarmingly, the mining tenements granted through the program have encroached into 17 of important biodiversity areas, into 35 of national conservation priority areas, and 32 of national integrated protected areas.

Our government should take extra measures to safeguard our land, our habitat and natural resources. I am not sure if they are taking these issues seriously. By the way, whatever happened to the multimillion-dollar mining deal between Chinese firm Jiangxi and a Filipino firm chaired by former presidential chief of staff and defeated senatorial candidate Michael Defensor?