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Manila Bulletin devider Opinion devider Maritime safety

Maritime safety

Published Oct 25, 2023 04:05 pm

'TOL VIEWS

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The recent collision of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) resupply vessel and Chinese Maritime Militia Vessels (CMMV) last Oct. 22 at the West Philippine Sea (WPS), months after the water cannon incident of the Chinese Coast Guard against the Filipino troops, weeks after the death of a Filipino fishermen from a ramming incident involving a foreign vessel near Bajo de Masinloc, show that maritime safety is of prime concern.

This intimidation, others believe, may not altogether be directed at the Philippines alone, but a disruption of rules-based international legal regime. Whatever the case may be, such aggression should not be left without action.

Currently, the PCG, under the directives of the country’s Commander-in-Chief, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., is doing a probe on the matter. And coincidentally, a day after the collision, the Senate Special Committee on Maritime and Admiralty Zones, which I lead, conducted deliberations on the Maritime Zone bills filed in the Senate.

At the said hearing, PCG spokesman for the WPS Commodore Jay Tarriela declared that the CMMVs violated three rules under the Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972 (COLREGs) of which China is also a signatory state.

Comm. Tarriela said that they violated Rule 2 (‘responsibility of the vessel’), Rule 7 (‘risk of collision’), and Rule 18A (‘the responsibility between vessels’).

From this, we can say that rules are already in place for maritime safety, but rules won’t get implemented on their own.

If there are rules in place, we can only think that there is a deeper reason for such aggressions.

Nonetheless, we Filipinos must remain steadfast. In the Senate Maritime and Admiralty Zones panel, we are doing our best to refine the Maritime Zones Law which would delineate what is ours, including underwater features.

We have a long way to go, but considering that this legislation should have been enacted decades ago, we can say that we have come so far.  We have always been a peace-loving race, and violence and aggression will always be at the bottom of our list of options. However, we will also not let other nations trample upon our rights on land or waters that are rightfully ours.

All for our national territory, all for the future generations of Filipinos.

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Senator Francis ‘Tol’ N. Tolentino TOL VIEWS
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