COTABATO CITY — The Philippines will not be cowed by China’s size and will keep on asserting the country’s claim over the disputed Spratly Islands, President Benigno Aquino III on Wednesday said.
Aquino said the country is not being “belligerent" toward China, the world’s second largest economy and another claimant to the supposedly mineral-rich group of islands.
“Baka certain quarters are saying, bakit ba tayo belligerent, bakit ba binubunggo itong napakahiganteng bansa? Hindi po natin binubunggo, ang ginagawa lang po natin pinoprotektahan natin ang karapatan natin dahil yung karapatan natin kung hindi mo i-e-exercise, inabandon mo," he said.
Aquino said if China is allowed to claim parts of the Spratlys that are within the country’s 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone as stated under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS), the Philippines would lose its right over the islands.
“We believe our basis for claim is well founded especially under this treaty ratified by… so many countries, including China," Aquino said.
“We expect China to adhere to that and with America backing us up and other ASEAN claimants, we expect that the UN, America and the other interested parties [that] have to traverse this body of water will insist on freedom of navigation and [the] adherence to UNCLOS," Aquino said.
The Reed Bank or Recto Bank is under the jurisdiction of the Philippines and not part of the dispute, as it is located 80 nautical miles off Palawan and about 570 miles from Hainan island, the closest point in China.
Where lies the validity of claim...
“Marami na tayong pinayl na protest, marami rin silang pinayl na protest sa atin. Ang importante dito… let them defend themselves in the international fora as to where the validity of their claim lies in," he said.
Aside from the Philippines and China, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam, and Taiwan also claim a part or all of the Spratlys.
Last May 19, the defense ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) reaffirmed their respective commitments "to fully and effectively implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, and to work towards the adoption of a regional Code of Conduct... that would further promote peace and stability in the region."
The ASEAN defense ministers also stressed in their joint declaration, "freedom of navigation in and overflight above the South China Sea as provided for by universally-recognized principles of international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS."
Defense Undersecretary Eduardo Batac said in a telephone interview on June 13 with GMA News' "Unang Balita" the stance of the country is a "cautious" one of resorting to diplomatic dialogue. In the same newscast, Dr. Prospero de Vera of the University of the Philippines proposed a multilateral solution through ASEAN as the most promising option available to the Philippine government.
According to the Chinese government's official web portal, China's defense expenditure in 2009 was at 495 billion renminbi which, at the current rate of exchange with the peso, converts to P3.33 trillion. The Philippines's 2011 military budget is P29.69 billion.— With Kimberly Jane Tan/Earl Rosero/KBK/VS
