On the 13th day of a standoff with Chinese vessels off Zambales province,
the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) sent a craft to join a
Philippine Coast Guard search and rescue ship at Panatag Shoal.
“It’s
the showing of the flag,” President Benigno Aquino III told reporters on
Monday. “We believe these are our waters. Therefore, our vessel has the right
to be in our waters.”
But
Aquino stressed that his government was seeking a diplomatic solution to the
impasse and that he had appealed to partners in the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations to take a stand on the territorial dispute.
“The
dispute has to be settled. It can’t be left hanging forever,” the President
said.
Lt.
Gen. Anthony Alcantara, chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Northern
Luzon Command, said the BFAR ship hooked up with BRP Pampanga on Monday
afternoon in the cluster of reefs and islands known internationally as
Scarborough Shoal. China claims the area as part of its territory and calls it
Huangyan Island.
Pampanga
relieved BRP Edsa, which returned to base on Monday to replenish provisions and
refuel.
Alcantara
told reporters at Camp Aguinaldo in a phone interview that the fisheries craft
would “check on our marine resources there”.
Keeping
watch
He said
the lone Coast Guard vessel was keeping watch as Chinese fishing ships and a
gunboat appeared intermittently in that pocket of the West Philippine Sea,
known to the rest of the world as the South China Sea.
“We saw
two Chinese fishing boats but these were outside the shoal. Our Coast Guard
ship saw the CMS 71 but they had no visual contact of the other, the FLEC, 310
(gunboat)… but we assume it’s still there,” he said.
“Everything
is normal,” he said, describing the situation as “stable.”
He said
the BFAR ship had no intention of boarding the Chinese fishing vessels.
“That’s
not their job. Their only job is just to check our fisheries resources and our
marine resources,” Alcantara said.
In an
interview on ANC television, Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said Monday
the Coast Guard was staying in the shoal 220 kilometres west of Zambales.
“We
will leave when we’re ready to leave, not when we’re told to leave,” Del
Rosario said, referring to Beijing’s demand last week that the Philippines
withdraw vessels from Panatag.
He
warned that the Chinese moves were threatening freedom of navigation in the
vital sea lane. “I think the current standoff is a manifestation of a larger
threat to many nations,” he said. “They should be concerned if they’re
interested in maintaining the freedom of navigation and unimpeded commerce.”
Misleading
information
Del Rosario expressed concern over “very incomplete and even misleading information” relayed to Beijing by Chinese Ambassador to Manila Ma Keqing, who had held two rounds of talks with DFA officials over the impasse.
DFA
spokesperson Raul Hernandez said Del Rosario referred to a report by Ma that
the two panels had agreed to withdraw from Panatag. “There’s no such agreement
yet because it’s still being discussed.”
“Also,
there’s no agreement yet about the fishing boats that were poaching and which
have actually collected a big amount of endangered species,” said Hernandez.
Del
Rosario also announced that he planned to recommend the appointment of a career
diplomat as ambassador to China after the Commission on Appointments turned
down the nomination by MrAquino of businessman Domingo Lee for a third time
last week.
Del
Rosario joined Defence Secretary Voltaire Gazmin in a meeting in Malacañang on
Monday with Aquino.
The
Panatag standoff was not discussed, according to presidential spokesperson
Edwin Lacierda, who said the talks centred on the visit by Del Rosario and
Gazmin to Washington and their meeting on April 30 with US Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton and Defence Secretary Leon Panetta.
Del
Rosario sprained an ankle before the Malacañang meeting and failed to attend a
press briefing at DFA.
Indisputable
sovereignty
In a
radio interview Monday, Gazmin declared that “the Philippines has an absolute
and indisputable sovereignty over Panatag island”. He said the standoff ensued
because of illegal activities by Chinese fishermen.
“If
you’re in the area, I’m sure you will feel the tension because you’re
outnumbered and their ships are bigger than your ships,” he said.
The
standoff at Panatag began on April 10 when two Chinese surveillance ships
stopped the Philippine Navy flagship, BRP Gregorio del Pilar, from
investigating eight Chinese fishing boats for poaching marine life. With a
report from Jerry E. Esplanada
Christine
O. Avendaño, DJ Yap
Philippine
Daily Inquirer
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