Senator Risa Hontiveros on Wednesday renewed her call for the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to take the lead in pushing ASEAN member states to establish a coordinated position against China’s repeated incursions in disputed waters within the region.

Hontiveros made the call amid the ongoing ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting from August 2, to 6, 2021. The DFA, she noted, has filed over 100 diplomatic protests on China’s various activities in the West Philippine Sea since 2016.

“ASEAN should stand as one. When it comes to China’s belligerent actions in the West Philippine Sea, ASEAN’s principle of non-interference does not apply,” Hontiveros said in a statement.

“Should China impede freedom of navigation in the entire South China Sea, it is not only the Philippines that will be gravely affected, but also the whole region. If the Philippines loses this diplomatic battle against China, the ASEAN loses, too,” she added.

The senator noted that other ASEAN members are also strongly pushing back against China, noting how Malaysia had lodged a diplomatic protest after a “suspicious” Chinese aircraft were spotted over the South China Sea off of Borneo.

In 2020, Vietnam was also reported to consider raising an international arbitration case against China.

“The ASEAN must actively exhaust all legal and diplomatic means to resist China’s excessive claims. Being passive does not help our case, especially in the face of an aggressor,” she said.

The lawmaker further noted “China deliberately targets weaker states unable to effectively resist, thus the need for unified and concerted action.”

“Our region is home to some of the best and brightest minds in international law and diplomacy, so let’s pool these talents together and put China in her place,” Hontiveros stressed.

She further lamented that aside from national security threats, China’s presence in the West Philippine Sea is also leading to environmental degradation of marine life in the disputed waters.

“Southeast Asian nations should already start our accounting of the environmental damage wrought by China in our territories. These are tangible costs that China owes our region,” she stressed.

“These are costs that we should collectively demand China pay. The ASEAN may be composed of arguably smaller countries but, together, our fighting spirit is bigger than any bully can handle,” the lawmaker emphasized.