House Deputy Speaker Rufus Rodriguez on Wednesday rejected China’s proposition for the Philippines to respect Beijing’s sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea, saying it should pull out all its military and civilian vessels in the area because it is not part of their exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
“They should leave the West Philippine Sea. They are the interloper,” Rodriguez said in a statement.
The Cagayan de Oro 2nd District Representative also called the statement of the Chinese foreign ministry for the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to stop exercises in the WPS and for the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and to respect Chinese sovereignty over the disputed maritime territory as “ridiculous.”
“That statement is ridiculous. That area is part of our 200-mile EEZ under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the ruling of the UN arbitral court,” Rodriguez reiterated.
“We have every right to patrol it, conduct drills there and explore it for its fishery and other natural resources. But they are the ones taking tons and tons of fishes and destroying the environment there,” he also said.
Rodriguez pointed out that the WPS is about 600 miles from China while, in contrast, the Scarborough Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc to Filipino fishermen, is just 120 miles off the coast of Zambales and Pangasinan.
“They are in control of it despite the fact that it is within our EEZ,” he lamented.
The Julian Felipe Reef, which is down south and 175 miles from Bataraza, Palawan, Rodriguez said is also part of the Philippine’s EEZ.
Yet, the Chinese still maintain their presence in the area despite the government’s repeated filing of protests against their incursions.
“So they are claiming and occupying a large part of the sea that should exclusively belong to us under international law, and illegally taking resources from it. They are the ones complicating the situation, not us,” the solon said.