Actions speak louder than words

The recent incident involving China Coast Guard ships and one of our supply boats is yet again another example of the disgraceful, dangerous and aggressive behavior that shows China’s propensity to doublespeak.

Last Tuesday, Philippine civilian vessel Unaiza May 4 was on a resupply mission carrying food, water and other provisions for troops stationed on the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal when two CCG vessels blasted it with water cannons, shattering the windows and injuring four crew members as well as Western Command chief Vice Admiral Alberto Carlos, who sustained some cuts and bruises.

Shortly thereafter, the Chinese Coast Guard dispatched a rigid-hull inflatable boat that began to circle the damaged boat as if to obstruct the pathway of a vessel dispatched by the Philippine Coast Guard to provide medical assistance to the injured Filipino personnel.

This latest incident is only one of the many aggravating moves heightening the tension in the West Philippine Sea, with Filipinos seething at the incessant bullying and harassment by Chinese Coast Guard and maritime militia vessels that are deliberately conducting dangerous and provocative maneuvers. Many are finding their voice in the statement of Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, who described the actions of China in the West Philippine Sea as “downright uncivilized” – and, I might add, disgusting.

The hostile actions of the Chinese vessels were witnessed by Associated Press journalists aboard BRP Sindangan, who captured the moment when the CCG vessel sideswiped the Philippine Coast Guard ship in a “tense and dangerous moment.”

In typical fashion, China gave a version of the incident that was totally different, claiming that it was the Philippine vessels that were “illegally trespassing” in Ayungin Shoal – which is well within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone – saying that the China Coast Guard actions were “professional, restrained, reasonable and lawful” when in reality, the unprovoked actions and the dangerous maneuvers of the Chinese vessels have caused harm and endangered the lives of Filipino personnel, in blatant disregard of international law.

Secretary Teodoro blasted Beijing’s “propaganda mechanisms… to justify their illegal acts against Philippine vessels on their so-called ‘indisputable’ claim over most of the South China Sea” and taking great pains to mischaracterize their provocations as lawful under international law – a claim that no right thinking state in the world would agree with, he added.

Last year, China came out with their so-called standard national map that features a 10-dash-line – one additional dash more than its previous nine-dash line – just a week after Chinese president Xi Jinping said “hegemonism is not in China’s DNA” – which drew protests among nations that include India, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines that rejected the sweeping claim.

And as I pointed out during my speaking engagement at the Consular Corps of the Philippines – no one really knows how far China will go in staking its claims in the South China Sea. Previously it was nine, and today it is 10 – then 11, 12? As claimant nations, we can talk about our conflicting claims but we absolutely cannot allow a single country to claim the entire area.

In my remarks during the recently concluded Track 2 Dialogue on Quad Plus Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific organized by the Center for New American Security, I said the Philippines has consistently maintained that the South China Sea dispute is not the sum of our bilateral relationship with China. We are close neighbors with hundreds, if not thousands, of years of exchanges between our two peoples.

We must, therefore, be able to manage our dispute without resorting to the use of force. However, China’s actions for many years now – becoming more pronounced recently – have had destabilizing effects in the region and increased the risk of an outbreak of conflict among the claimants.

We are committed to fostering defense and security cooperation with like-minded partners, not to confront China directly, but to deter our neighbor in the North from taking escalatory actions that could potentially usher in a third World War, spelling the end of the world.

But while the Philippines renounces war as an instrument of foreign policy, it does not mean that we will not defend ourselves. We will respond with everything we’ve got if another country attacks us. And as we modernize our armed forces to achieve a credible defense posture, we take comfort in the wisdom of our past leaders after World War II – the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty with the United States. Today, there are many other nations that share the same values and recognize that our sovereignty as a nation is indisputable.

We have been working hard to strengthen relations and expand cooperation with many countries all over the world. We have elevated bilateral relations with Australia to a strategic partnership; we have convened our 5th Philippines-India Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation; we have agreed to accelerate negotiations on a Reciprocal Access Agreement with Japan with whom we are enjoying particularly robust relations; and our relationship with the United States is on “hyperdrive” with great potential for more cooperation, especially in the economic sphere as seen in the US Presidential Trade and Investment Mission led by Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo which will arrive tomorrow.

Instead of utilizing its significant resources to foster mutual economic prosperity, it’s unfortunate that a giant country like China resorts to aggressive behavior in order to assert its over-expansive claims that have spawned criticism from the international community. If there is anyone that is paying lip service to maintaining peace and stability in the region, it is unquestionably China.

Nothing could best describe it better than in one line: Actions speak louder than words.

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