President Duterte has only the Philippines' best interest in mind amid the continued intrusion of China's military, maritime militia, and fishing vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr., also the chairman of the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS), insisted on this Friday, May 7, as he said the Philippines does "not recognize" China and other countries' claims in the WPS, which is a small part of the vast South China Sea.
"Ang pinapaboran ng ating Pangulo ay walang iba kundi ang bansa ng Pilipinas (Our President favors no country other than the Philippines)," Esperon said in a DZBB radio interview when asked about the country’s clear cut policy regarding the continuing tension in the WPS.
Esperon's remark was backdropped by Duterte's statement last Wednesday wherein he said that the Philippines' victory at the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) was just a "piece of paper", like trash that he would throw in the wastebasket.
In 2016, the PCA invalidated China's nine-dash line claim in the South China Sea, which included some parts of the WPS. In effect, it ruled that there was no legal basis for China to claim "historic rights" over the resources in the areas included in its so-called nine-dash line.
China's claims in the WPS include the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) or Spratly Islands. The Kalayaan municipality in Palawan was created in 1978 through President Ferdinand Marcos's Presidential Decree (PD) No.1596. Six years later saw the ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which set the definition of a country's 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Within the Kalayaan Island Group, there are nine detachments put up by the Philippines. The biggest of these outposts is Pagasa (Thitu) Island, which is 230 nautical miles from Palawan, the nearest province.
In the same group of islands, China has claimed and made seven artificial islands with a total land area of 1,336 hectares. The most significant of which are the Kagitingan (Fiery Cross) Reef, Zamora (Subi) Reef, and Panganiban (Mischief Reef) which are each equipped with a three-kilometer runway and host various military outposts and installations.
Other countries with claims in the disputed area include Vietnam with 21 claims, Malaysia with five, Brunei with two, and Taiwan with one.
"Ang mga posisyong ito ng Vietnam at China ay hindi natin nire-recognize ngunit ang reality ay nandyan sila (We do not recognize these positions of Vietnam and China but the reality is, they are there)," Esperon said.
"Ang pinakamatibay nating claim ay ang EEZ na ibinigay ng UNCLOS (Our strongest claim is the EEZ which was given by the UNCLOS)," he said.
The EEZ simply states that the Philippines has sovereign rights over the waters within 200 nautical miles of its territory as well as exclusive rights on the seabed.
As for the arbitral ruling, Esperon said Duterte was correct when he said it was just a piece of paper.
"Tama 'yong sinabi ng Pangulo na papel nga 'yon dahil 'yon ang pinirmahang dokumento. Itong award wala namang sinabi na itong isla ay sa Pilipinas, itong isla ay sa China, itong isla ay sa Vietnam. Walang sinabing ganoon, it did not rule on sovereignty over the islands (What the President said was correct because that was the signed document. This award did not specify which islands were part of the Philippines, or of China, or of Vietnam. It did not say anything about that, it did not rule on sovereignty over the islands)," he explained.
The official added that the arbitral ruling had "no provisions for enforcement."
"Hindi sinabi na China umalis ka dyan, Pilipinas umalis ka dyan. Kung sinabi man, walang enforcement mechanism kaya hanging lahat 'yon (It did not say that China should leave, or Philippines should leave. If ever it was mentioned, there is no enforcement mechanism so it is all hanging)," he said.
But will the Philippines, under the administration of President Duterte, make a separate appeal before the PCA to clarify the enforcement of the arbitral award? Esperon did not give a clear answer.
"'Yong court na 'yon ay bubuo ka ulit ng panel dahil ang ibang members ay in-appoint by some intercession at tayo ang nagbayad ng sweldo pati paggamit ng kwarto at ibang facilities. Gumastos tayo ng P1 billion para sa travel at ito ang nakuha natin, arbitral award na hindi naman natin ma-enforce (You need to create another panel for that court and some of the members were appointed by some intercession, we paid for their salary as well as the use of the rooms and other facilities. We spent P1 billion for their travel and this is what we got, an arbitral award which we cannot enforce)," he said.