Maritime law expert calls for vigilance even if China withdraws vessels from disputed reef

Maritime law expert Jay Batongbacal said Monday the Philippines should stay vigilant even if China withdraws the vessels moored near Julian Felipe Reef in the West Philippine Sea.

Malacañang earlier said China was not insisting for the ships to remain in the area, citing the Chinese side’s assurance to President Rodrigo Duterte that the vessels were only taking shelter due to rough sea conditions.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has already filed a diplomatic protest and called for the immediate withdrawal of the Chinese vessels given that Julian Felipe Reef, called Niu’e Jiao by China, lies within the Philippines’ 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone.

“Even if this situation is resolved nominally in our favor, meaning that the entire fleet disperses, the situation overall is still the same. China has still made inroads into the West Philippine Sea and it has established and is maintaining its network of military bases there,” said Batongbacal, director of the UP Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea, during the Tapatan sa Aristocrat media forum.

“Even if they withdraw temporarily from Whitsun (Julian Felipe) Reef, we should be vigilant about all the other places where this can also happen.”

Batongbacal added that the country should address the issue on China’s latest incursion “consistently with resolve from now on and not be swinging back and forth again.”

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana assured the public over the weekend that there would be an “increased presence” of the Philippine Navy and Philippine Coast Guard ships to conduct sovereignty patrols and protect Filipino fishermen in the area.

Philippine Ambassador to China Jose Santiago “Chito” Sta. Romana, meanwhile, said he expects the issue to be resolved with an “abundance of diplomacy.”

“The situation right there basically warrants us to look for appropriate and proportionate actions to take as to how we could possibly make our way out of this,” said Aaron Jed Rabena, a research fellow at the foreign policy think tank Asia-Pacific Pathways to Progress.

“It depends really on skillful diplomacy. And diplomacy is not only about talking with the other side but also knowing and building up your own strengths so that when you talk with them there is some credibility in what you are saying that you will do,” added Batongbacal.—AOL, GMA News