Listen to trilateral summit declarations, House leader tells China
At A Glance
- House Majority Leader Zamboanga City 2nd district Rep. Mannix Dalipe has advised Beijing to "listen" to the Joint Vision Statement released by the leaders of the United States (US), Japan, and the Philippines following their historic three-nation summit.
Zamboanga City 2nd district Rep. Mannix Dalipe (PPAB)
House Majority Leader Zamboanga City 2nd district Rep. Mannix Dalipe has advised Beijing to "listen" to the Joint Vision Statement released by the leaders of the United States (US), Japan, and the Philippines following their historic three-nation summit.
“We cannot understand why China continues to pursue an aggressive approach in dealing with its neighbors in the vast South China Sea, when it can shift to a live-and-let-live tack,” Dalipe said in statement Sunday, April 14.
He said it is clear that Ayungin Shoal off Palawan in the south and Scarborough Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc near Zambales and Pangalinan in the north are part of the Philippines’ 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Dalipe added that these sea features, and some islets occupied by Beijing in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), are hundreds of miles away from the Chinese mainland.
The highlight of the trilateral summit was the meeting of US President Joe Biden, Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and President Marcos.
The summit participants expressed their “serious concerns” over China’s “dangerous and aggressive behavior in the South China Sea” and the “militarization of reclaimed features and unlawful maritime claims in the South China Sea".
They also opposed China’s “repeated obstruction of Philippine vessels’ exercise of high seas freedom of navigation and the disruption of supply lines to Second Thomas Shoal (Ayungin Shoal), which constitute dangerous and destabilizing conduct".
The leaders also expressed concern over China’s aggressive behavior in the East China Sea, where China and Japan are similarly contesting certain islets and maritime areas.
During the summit, President Biden reaffirmed the “iron-clad US alliance commitments to both Japan and the Philippines, which have helped safeguard peace and security in the Indo-Pacific for decades".
Following these declarations, Dalipe urged China to stop entering the EEZs of the Philippines and neighboring countries.
There is heightened tension in the WPS for the past few months resulting from Chinese vessels' repeated intrusions and their blocking of Philippine boats on resupply missions to the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin.