Philippines stands by EEZ rights but won’t use force vs Chinese vessels

The Palace has stopped short of calling on Chinese vessels to leave Julian Felipe Reef which is within the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) on Monday even if it has maintained that the said reef belongs to the Philippines.

“We will not give up even a single inch of our national territory or our exclusive economic zone and we hope friendly relations will result to a peaceful resolution of this impasse,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in response to exchange of statements between the Chinese Embassy in Manila and Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana.

“Paninindigan natin ang ating karapatan pero hindi ito isang bagay para tayo ay gumamit ng dahas (We will stand for our rights, but this is not something we will settle by use of force),” he added.

Lorenzana earlier said he is not a fool to believe that the 44 Chinese ships were there in the Julian Felipe Reef and many other Chinese vessels scattered in Kalayaan Group of Islands due to bad weather, but the Chinese Embassy has maintained that the area is a traditional fishing area of China.

China’s claim covering the entire South China Sea, however, is contrary to the July 2016 Hague UN Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling which already rejected the former's nine dash line theory.

The same decision, stemming from a case filed by the Philippines against China, also upheld that the Spratly Islands, Panganiban (Mischief) Reef, Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal, and Recto (Reed) Bank are within the Philippines' EEZ.

The National Task Force on West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) earlier called on Chinese vessels to leave the Philippines' exclusive economic zone and announced that the Philippines already increased the deployment of maritime vessels from the Philippine Navy, Philippine Coast Guard, and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources to undertake enhanced routine patrols to safeguard Philippines’ sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national patrimony in the Kalayaan Island Group.

The NTF-WPS, led by National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon, is composed of the following government agencies:

•     Department of Foreign Affairs
•     Department of National Defense
•     Department of Justice
•     Department of the Interior and Local Government
•     Department of Environment and Natural Resources
•     Department of Energy
•     Department of Agriculture
•     Department of Trade and Industry
•     Department of Transportation and Communications
•     Department of Finance
•     National Economic and Development Authority
•     National Coast Watch System
•     Armed Forces of the Philippines
•     Philippine National Police – Maritime Group
•     Philippine Coast Guard, and
•     Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.

—AOL, GMA News