Opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros on Friday lauded the government for finally taking the cudgels for Filipino fishermen by filing a diplomatic protest against China’s new Coast Guard Law.

“I welcome the Department of Foreign Affairs’ filing of a diplomatic protest against the China’s New Coast Guard Law, a provocation threatens not only the lives and livelihood of our fisherfolk, but also peace and stability in the entire region,” Hontiveros said when sought to comment on the issue.
 
“This diplomatic protest is a critical step toward asserting our legal and sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea (WPS). I commend Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin for finally taking action even after his initial hesitation, saying at first that the new law was ‘none of our business’,” she said.
 
The senator said the Philippines should continue to assert its triumph at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague, as the government’s inaction might be construed as an abandonment of claim under international law.
 
“We cannot sleep on our rights. Perhaps, like Secretary Locsin, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque also needs some time to reflect on the situation, instead of lawyering for China and downplaying the threat China’s blatant and heavy-handed disregard for international law poses to our national interests,” she pointed out.
 
“At this point, everyone but Malacañang seems to be aware that China seeks to replace the international rules based order embodied in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), with a regime anchored on Chinese economic and military power,” she said.
 
The lawmaker said Roque’s claims that Filipino fishermen are already protected under the UNCLOS—a treaty China believes does not apply to its dispute with rival claimants in the WPS—is both naïve and irresponsible.
 
“Our backpedaling must stop. Filipinos deserve strong leadership in the face of Chinese pressure, not apologists for a foreign power. We should not give an inch. We are in the right. The international community recognizes this and stands with us,” she said.
 
“To maintain peace and stability in the region, we should continue to defend our country with diplomacy and truth. We should stand up to China and its vague and baseless claim to the territory and resources within the so-called nine-dash line. China is stubborn,” she stressed.