Senators have spoken their minds on China's recent pronouncements wherein it blamed the Philippines for the rising tensions in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

China said it was open to a dialogue with the Philippines to settle maritime disputes after President Marcos noted that Manila’s diplomatic relations with Beijing appeared to be heading in a "poor direction.”

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III said that China should also understand that the Philippines, as a sovereign nation, has its own territorial sovereignty concerns and maritime rights and interests.

"We should also both realize, the sooner the better, that we really have contrasting positions," he said.

He mentioned that it should be expected that each party will act in accordance with its best interests.

"But being both responsible members of the United Nations (UN), both parties must act in accordance with the spirit on why the UN was created in the first place as well as the letter of the UN Charter and the many other treaties meant to promote regional and world peace," Pimentel added.

Senator Chiz Escudero says that war and armed conflict is an outdated and ill-advised method of settling disputes.

He mentioned that he will always favor dialogue over confrontation and/or conflagration and believes that this was in the national interest of both countries.

"Admittedly tensions are high and getting higher and the only way to diffuse the situation is to open lines of communication and dialogue," he said.

"We may not agree on anything or we may agree on some things (but not all) and that is fine for as long as dialogue is on-going instead of merely reacting to the events that occur in the WPS each time something happens," he added.  

Escudero says that the "warmongers" are simply “playing to the crowd”.

"Knowing that it is a popular issue but have they brought their war-mongering to its logical conclusion - which is war? Is that really what they want?" he asked 

"Why are we so afraid of dialogue when we dont really have to give up or agree to anything unless it is in accordance with our sovereignty and national interest in the WPS," he added.

According to Escudero, the two countries can even agree to disagree especially on the issue of ownership and sovereignty over the WPS but other matters can be discussed (such as a code of conduct, maintainingbour presence in Ayungin and the rights of our fishermen).

"Words never killed anyone but actions, assumptions, instigations and offensive conduct certainly can. Madami nang namatay sa maling akala dahil di nag-uusap o nakikipag-usap (A lot of already died from false thoughts,"he said.

Senator JV Ejercito said that it was outright wrong for China to claim to be "properly managing maritime differences through dialogue and consultation" when it is, in fact, harassing Philippine operations within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

"Who is using water cannons to obstruct and prevent our Filipino vessels during our resupply mission? Who has been bullying and violating international maritime laws over the past months in our sovereign waters? It is none other than, China," he said.

Ejercito urged China to halt President Xi Jinping's expansionist policies to prevent potential conflicts.

He hopes that China honors the verdict of the Hague-based tribunal. Constituted under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), it ruled in July 2016 that China's claim of historical rights within its nine-dash line lacked any legal foundation.

"The bottomline is to respect Philippine sovereignty and leave our territorial waters alone!" he said.

"We can only achieve peace and a sound relationship between China and the Philippines if both countries acknowledge each other's maritime rights. In this case, it is essential to recognize that the West Philippines Sea belongs to us— the Philippines," he added.