By Roy Mabasa, Mario Casayuran, and Nonoy Lacson
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin on Monday ordered the filing of a diplomatic protest against China over what he described as “trespassing” of Chinese warships that made repeated intrusions in Philippine territorial waters.
Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. (AP Photo / Sakchai Lalit / MANILA BULLETIN)
Locsin issued the order on the same day that he told members of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs that the Philippines will never give up an inch of its territory to any foreign power, including China.
READ MORE: PH won’t give up an inch of its territory, Locsin tells senators
In a social media post, Locsin directed the Office of the Assistant Secretary for the Asia-Pacific (ASPAC) desk of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to “fire” the diplomatic protest in response to the concerns raised by Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana against the series of unauthorized passage of Chinese military vessels in the southern waters of the Philippines.
“@DFAPHL @ASPAC fire diplomatic protest over Chinese warship; drop the diplomatic crap; say it is ours period; they're trespassing. If we did it already fire another. We won't run out. & don't wait for formal intel. This is the Secretary of National Defense no less. Fire at will,” Locsin said in his tweet.
Briefing members of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, chaired by Senator Aquilino Pimentel III, Locsin said parts of Philippine territory taken over by China “will never ripen into right.”
Locsin stressed that the age of hegemony in Southeast Asia “is over” as no country will ever permit it.
Replying to a query of Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon, Locsin said the filing of diplomatic protest against the unauthorized passage by Chinese naval vessels in Philippine waters is an evidence of the country’s assertion of its sovereign rights over its territory.
In 2016, the United Nations Arbitration Court rejected China’s historical claim over most parts of South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea (WPS) claimed by the Philippines.
Drilon said he finds it troubling that Chinese vessels pass through Philippine waters because of the current economic and military imbalance between the two nations, with China having the upper hand.
If China will again make illegal maritime incursion, Locsin said he would fire another diplomatic protest “because we’ll never run out of those” and will “drop its usual diplomatic language.”
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said that the repeated passage of Chinese vessels in Philippine territory is becoming an irritant.
Read more: Lorenzana to clarify with Chinese envoy passage of Chinese aircraft carrier in Sibutu Strait
Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said he finds it troubling that the Chinese ships had to pass through Philippine waters when they could have used another route.
Surigao del Norte 1st District Representative Francisco “Bingo” Matugas on Monday urged President Duterte to raise with Chinese President Xi Jinping the issue of China’s warships sailing through Philippine territorial waters after the Armed Forces of the Philippines monitored three more unauthorized incursions in the Sibutu Strait off Mindanao in August.
“We support Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana’s statement that he hoped the President would take up this matter with President Xi when they meet later this month. We agree that it has become what he called ‘an irritant’ in the bilateral relations of the two countries,” Matugas said in a statement.
The lawmaker from Siargao, one of the major tourist destinations in the country today, said the actuations of Chinese ships “undermine Philippine sovereignty and, in a sense, threaten the security of the country, particularly those near the affected provinces.”
Aside from Chinese military ships, reports also indicated that Chinese survey vessels were likewise spotted near Siargao in Mindanao and in Batanes in Northern Luzon.
“We hope our people will be informed about what the Chinese vessels – both armed warships and survey ships – were doing in Philippine territorial waters… This is not only a matter of security and sovereignty,” Matugas said.
Last Friday, Lorenzana voiced his frustration over the repeated unannounced presence of Chinese warships in the country’s territorial waters, specifically in Sibutu Strait.
It was earlier reported that Chinese warships sailed through the Sibutu Strait at least three more times in August, apart from the two incursions in July.
Only foreign commercial ships have the right of “innocent passage” in Sibutu Strait while foreign military vessels should at least inform the Philippine government beforehand.
Meanwhile, Locsin continued his persistent attacks against the “yellows” in response to a post by a netizen who was asking as to when the DFA Secretary and Philippine National Police chief Oscar Albayalde would be able to figure out who the real enemies of the Philippines are.
“No, the Yellows are still the enemy; the Chinese are just the Chinese – for China and certainly not for us. But sore losers are always sore losers and to be watched for whatever mischief they are sure to be up to,” the country’s top diplomat said in a separate tweet.
Meanwhile, fishermen expressed fear for their safety after two China warships continue to sail near the province’s Turtle group of islands in Taganak in Tawi-Tawi.
Hadji Abdul Sahibul, a fisherman, said most of his fellow fishers have noticed the presence of the Chinese warships making stopover in the area for at least one hour before sailing anew.
Taganak Mayor Hadji Moh Faisal Jamalul said the presence of the two Chinese warships sailing in the area at least once a week has already affected the livelihood of most of his constituents.
Jamalul said “the main livelihood of my people in the municipality is fishing and with the presence of these two big Chinese warships, their fishing activities are now affected.”
The mayor said the Philippine Coast Guard Station in Taganak and their seacraft are no match to the two Chinese warships.
“I do not know why these war vessels of China are patrolling near us and doing some stopover for an hour in the area before they sail to a new direction,” the mayor said.
With the presence of the Chinese warships, the people and the local government of Taganak are now living in fear, Jamalul said.
Jamalul called on the Philippine Navy Station near the Philippine-Malaysia border to patrol the area so Filipino fishermen will have a sense of security while fishing.
READ MORE: Tawi-Tawi fishermen say 2 China warships patrolling Turtle group of islands