Senator Francis ‘’Tol’’ Tolentino on Friday, December 16, said it is the call of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. to decide whether to relay to Chinese President Xi Jinping the "unfriendly" acts of the Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) in retrieving a debris from a Chinese rocket that fell within Philippine territory.

The President, according to Tolentino, formulates the country’s foreign policy. President Marcos is scheduled to leave for China in early January 2023 for a state visit.

During an television interview, Tolentino referred to his privilege speech at the end of the Senate’s 2022 plenary session where he urged urged members of the Legislature and the country’s maritime security forces and diplomats to ensure that Philippine interests in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) are protected and enhanced.

Tolentino highlighted his speech on the November 2022 incident when the CCG forcefully retrieved debris from a Chinese Long March 5B rocket which fell within the Pag-asa Islands Territorial Sea.

The Senator warned that the incident was a gross violation of Philippine sovereignty under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 2016 Arbitral Award.

Tolentino noted that Chinese diplomats denied that the incident occurred, claiming that a “friendly” consultation took place, but footage and reports clearly showed the CCG assertively taking the space debris in an area well within sovereign Philippine territory.

He said that these incidents cannot be allowed to continue as they not only can potentially harm Filipino fishermen but the China Coast Guard’s actions also violate Philippine maritime rights as enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the Arbitral Award.

The UN arbitral award refers to a UN court decision rejecting the historical claim of China over most parts of China, including the WPS.

Tolentino urged members of the military and diplomatic corps to continue denouncing the brazen intrusions into Philippine maritime territory and assert the country’s rights, citing the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 2016 Arbitral Award.

Before going into a Christmas break, the Senate passed Tolentino’s resolution denouncing the bullying of Chinese Coast Guard.

Tolentino said the appropriate Senate committee could end a copy of the resolution to the UNCLOS secretary to form part of the post arbitral rolling.

He said it is also the job of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to take the matter up with the United Nations.

#PAGASA ISLAND

Tolentino: Its President Marcos’ call whether to relay to Chinese Premier Xi Jinpeng unfriendly acts of Chinese Coast Guard