The Philippine government’s filing of diplomatic protests against China has resulted in decreasing presence and activities of Chinese vessels in the country’s maritime zone, a maritime expert revealed on Thursday, April 29.
Professor Jay Batongbacal, director of the University of the Philippines Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea, said that diplomatic protest is a part of the interaction with other countries to resolve maritime disputes.
“Yung diplomatic protest parte talaga yan ng pakikipagugnayan sa mga ibang bansa so normal lang po yan at kahit dumami pa yan kahit paano eh nagkakaroon naman po ng epekto yan (The diplomatic protest is really part of the interaction with other countries so it is just normal and even if it increases, it still have an effect),” Batongbacal told the ABS-CBN’s Teleradyo.
“Kasi sa ngayon kapag tinitignan po namin ngayon yung mga position ng mga barko ng China dyan sa WPS mayroong pagbabago rin eh hindi kagaya nung mga nakaraang taon na dagsang dagsa sila, ngayon po marami ang lumalayo o kaya eh nabawasan naman yung kanilang presensya (Right now when we look at the positions of Chinese ships there in the WPS, there is a notable change, unlike in previous years when they were in large numbers, now many ships were moving away),” he added.
The maritime expert recognized the government’s effort to sustain and conduct maritime exercises in the disputed areas.
He encouraged the national security forces to continue conducting maritime drills to pursue assertion and exercise of the country’s rights in the WPS.
“Nagkaroon naman ng improvement at nakita naman natin na meron talaga tayong magagawa kahit konti at dapat magtuloy tuloy talaga yung ating assertion at exercise ng ating mga karapatan (There has been an improvement and we have seen that there were a lot of things that we can do and our assertion and exercise of our rights must really continue),” he said.
Batongbacal underscored that China has no right to prevent the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) to conduct maritime exercises in the WPS because it is within the country’s maritime zone.
“Lahat po ng bansa ay pwede po magkaroon ng karapatan sa sarili niya so tama lang po na ineexercise natin yung karapatan natin na iyon (All countries have their own rights, so it's our right to exercise it),” he added.
Under the Duterte administration, the Philippines has already filed a total of 78 diplomatic protests against China as of April 26, 2021, according to DFA Executive Director for Strategic Communications Ivy Banzon-Abalos.
On March 7, over 220 Chinese vessels were discovered in mass formation at the Julian Felipe Reef. It later dispersed to Kalayaan Island Group and other parts of the WPS.