Two lawmakers on Monday said Manila should not expect all-out support
from Washington and even from its fellow-members in the Association of
Southeast Nations on the South China Sea issue because the United States was
heavily indebted to China and most of the Asean member-states had trade
relations with Beijing.
“The US reportedly owes China
trillions of dollars while the Asean countries have trade relations with
China,” said Isabela Rep. Rodolfo Albano, a member of the House committee on
national defense.
“How then can we expect these
nations to help us out in our conflict when they have to protect their
relations with China? It’s quite pathetic for us to even seek their help.”
Antipolo City Rep. Romeo Acop, vice
chairman of the House Committee on Public Order and Safety, said the US could
not be blamed for its “safe” response to the country’s plea for assistance.
“Maybe the US is our longtime
ally, but the issue that is at stake here is about protecting personal
interests,” Acop said.
Albano said Manila should stop
begging and learn to fight for itself.
“We should stop our practice of
begging for help and hiding behind stronger economies when things get rough for
our country,” he said.
“We cannot and should not always
run to others for help. It’s time we [fought] our battle on our own.”
The two lawmakers’ statements
followed reports that three high-ranking Chinese officials had slammed the US
for criticizing Beijing’s decision to establish a military garrison in the
newly-created Sansha City.
US State Department spokesman
Patrick Ventrell had said over the weekend that Beijing raised the tension in
the region when it established Sansha City and its military garrison to defend
its sovereignty over the disputed islands.
Assistant Foreign Minister Zhang
Kunsheng said Ventrell’s remarks “completely ignored the facts, deliberately
confounded right and wrong, and sent a seriously wrong signal, which is not
conducive to the efforts safeguarding the peace and stability of the South
China Sea and the Asia-Pacific region”.
“We urge the US to correct its
mistake and respect China’s sovereignty,” Zhang said.
Qin Gang, a ministry spokesman,
on Saturday accused the US of “selective blindness” as “certain countries” had escalated
the disputes by opening oil and gas blocks, threatening Chinese fishermen, and
illegally appropriating territory.
“And why has the United States
chosen to speak out all of a sudden to stir up trouble at a time when the
countries concerned in the region are stepping up dialogue and communication to
resolve disputes and calm the situation?” Qin said.
On Sunday, Vice-Minister of
Foreign Affairs Fu Ying said in an interview with the Xinhua News Agency that
China was ready to talk with the Asean on a code of conduct in the South China
Sea when “conditions are ripe,” and that the issue should be addressed and
solved only by the parties directly concerned.
Maricel Cruz
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