Vice President Leni Robredo is upset after seeing a video showing Chinese coast guard vessel allegedly trying to drive away a Filipino vessel from sailing in an area within the West Philippine Sea.
(Jansen Romero / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
Robredo lamented that the maritime incident occurred even though the local vessel was well within the country's exclusive economic zone.
"When you watch the video, nakakagalit, nakakadurog ng puso na nangyayari 'yun within our territory (it's infuriating, heartbreaking that it happened within our territory)," Robredo said over ANC's Headstart Friday, April 9.
"It was just a few miles out of Palawan, it was within our Exclusive Economic Zone, and yet tayong mga Pilipino iyong tinataboy (and yet we Filipinos are the ones being pushed away)," she added.
Robredo was referring to an incident when a Chinese coast guard ship allegedly tried to chase a Filipino vessel, with a television crew on board, while moving towards Ayungin Shoal.
The Chinese ship reportedly asked the Filipino vessel to identity itself, prompting vessel's captain to move away from Ayungin Shoal. The foreign ship supposedly followed the local vessel as it sailed back towards Palawan.
The incident happened amid the country's fresh dispute with China over the unlawful stay of its maritime militia vessels in Julian Felipe Reef and other parts of the West Philippines. Manila has lodged a diplomatic protest over the presence of the Chinese ships in local waters. Beijing however insisted that these were simply fishing vessels taking refuge due to rough sea conditions.
In the same television interview, Robredo has expressed concern for the safety of local fishermen who could experience the alleged harassment even within local waters.
"Iyong takot na dinadala ng mga mangingisda natin every day of their lives, when this is an area where they have every right to fish, tapos tinataboy sila nang ganoon. Parang nakakaano siya… Very heartbreaking (The fear our fishermen have to carry every day of their lives when this is an area where they have every right to fish, then they were driven away just like that. It's very heartbreaking)," she said.
Robredo remained hopeful that government would exert more effort to assert the country's rights over the West Philippine Sea.
While she appreciated the Department of National Defense and Department of Foreign Affairs' protest against the presence of the Chinese ships, Robredo said the government could use the arbitral award and band together with other claimants to assert ownership of the disputed territory.
Apart from the Philippines, Brunei, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan have claims to parts of the South China Sea. China has continued to push its claims over South China Sea despite an arbitration court’s ruling invalidating its alleged historic claims in the area.
"Parati kasi natin sinasabi na hindi natin sila kaya kasi maliit lang tayo. Pero 'pag nagsama-sama tayo lahat, mas malakas tayo (We always say we can't stand up to them because we are small but if we band together, we are stronger)," Robredo said.
"It's one of the areas where we have not, it’s an opportunity we have not taken advantage of. We have not maximized," she added.