PH could cut ties with China – Palace
Credit to Author: CATHERINE S. VALENTE, TMT| Date: Thu, 13 Jun 2019 16:13:23 +0000
Duterte ‘outraged’ over sinking of Filipino vessel
The Philippines would not hesitate to sever diplomatic ties with China if the sinking of a Filipino fishing boat in disputed waters earlier this week turned out to be intentional, Malacañang said on Thursday.
“We would cut off diplomatic relations, iyan ang mga unang ginagawa kapag merong mga aggressive acts (that’s the first thing to do where there are aggressive acts),” Palace spokesman Salvador Panelo told reporters.
Twenty-two Filipino fishers were rescued by a Vietnamese boat after the F/B Gimver 1 collided on Sunday with an unidentified Chinese vessel, which reportedly left the scene without providing any assistance. The incident, which occurred off Recto Bank in the West Philippine (South China) Sea, has been branded as part of the continued harassment by China, which claims most of the disputed waters.
“Mag-diplomatic protest ka. Kung hindi ka kuntento sa paliwanag nila at nakita nating talagang sinadya, ibang usapan na ‘yun (You file a diplomatic protest. If you are not content with their explanation and we find out that it was a deliberate act, then it’s another matter),” Panelo said.
‘More severe’
Given that President Rodrigo Duterte had recalled the Philippines’ envoys to Canada and even threatened “war” over a garbage row, the Palace spokesman said Manila’s response to the sinking could be “mas severe pa (more severe).” “Hindi natin alam (We don’t know), we’ll leave it to the President,” Panelo said.
“Our responses will always be calibrated… But, definitely, we will not allow ourselves to be assaulted, to be bullied, to be subject of such barbaric, uncivilized and outrageous actions from any source.”
Panelo said there was no need to summon Chinese Ambassador Zhao Jianhua, even as incident had left Duterte “outraged.”
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said a diplomatic protest had already been filed, but he rejected a call to seek international support.
After saying the protest had been “fired off” on Wednesday, he added: “F**k the international community. It can be bought. This is our fight and in the end ours alone.”
Earlier in the day, Panelo urged China to investigate the incident and impose sanctions if the Chinese fishers had failed to help the Filipinos.
“Regardless of the nature of the collision, whether it was accidental or intentional, common decency and the dictates of humanity require the immediate saving of the crew of the downed Philippine vessel,” he said in a statement where the Palace also thanked the Vietnamese seamen for coming to the Filipinos’ aid.
“The captain and the crew of the Chinese vessel should not have left the injured party without any assistance or succor. Such act of desertion is inhuman as it is barbaric,” he added.
“It is crystal-clear violation of maritime protocols as well as an infringement of internationally accepted practice of assisting a vessel in distress.”
International law ignored
Vice Adm. Robert Empedrad, Philippine Navy flag officer in command, on Thursday also added his voice to those criticizing the Chinese vessel’s actions.
“Regardless of where the ship came from, we have to condemn it because it just bumped a ship and then ran away. What kind of action was that?” he told reporters.
He noted that Article 98 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea required the vessels of all signatories to render assistance on the high seas. Both the Philippines and China have ratified the pact, although Beijing has threatened to junk it in relation to the South China Sea arbitral proceedings initiated, and won, by Manila.
International law was also cited by opposition Senators Franklin Drilon, Antonio Trillanes 4th and Ana Theresia “Risa” Hontiveros as they called for “strong and immediate action” from the government.
“We cannot let this incident pass. No self-respecting nation will allow that,” said Drilon, a former Justice secretary.
Trillanes urged Locsin to refer the incident “to the Maritime Safety Committee of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) since both the Philippines and China are State parties to the IMO.”
Locsin acknowledged this, but said on Twitter that he would “proceed on the merits of the case and what it calls for while the matter is studied by the IMO.” “Even our ally failed us in Scarborough, remember?” he said.
Hontiveros called on President Duterte “to immediately order the recall of our ambassador and all our consuls in China.”
“It stands to reason that if President Duterte can order the recall of our envoy and consuls in Canada over a dispute on garbage, he can do the same to defend and secure the lives of our fisherfolk and the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” she said.
Duterte, who in a pivot to Beijing set aside the international arbitral ruling won by Manila, has recently been more critical of the regional power’s incursions, earlier this year, threatening “suicide attacks” following reports that Chinese vessels had surrounded Philippine-held Pag-asa (Thitu) Island.
WITH BERNADETTE E. TAMAYO AND DEMPSEY REYES
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