UN should have the power to tell China to behave – Hontiveros

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) should have the power to tell China to behave, Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros said Tuesday.

The lawmaker made the statement after she filed a resolution prodding the Philippine government to urge the UNGA to call out China’s aggression against Filipino fisherfolk in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

“Yung blunt refusal ng Beijing na tanggapin ang kanyang kapalaran, legal fate niya, dapat may serious consequences ‘yan ha. Hindi pwedeng babalewalain lamang niya iyon. So ‘yung UNGA dapat may kakayahan na pagsabihan ang Tsina mag-behave ka,” Hontiveros said in a virtual interview with reporters.

The opposition lawmaker explained that while a UNGA resolution was not legally binding, it had a significant political weight that showed the will and consensus of the international community.

She reiterated that a UNGA resolution had the potential to shape international norms, influence national policies, and provide guidance for the work of other UN organs, specialized agencies, and regional organizations.

“Kailangan po ito dahil kahit na may ruling tayo, ang Tsina patuloy na hina-harass ang ating Navy, nananatili siyang hostile sa ating mga mangingisda at ‘yung fishing industry… patuloy na pine-pressure. Itong mga ginagawa pa rin ng Tsina ay walang iba kundi patuloy na pag-reject sa mga basic tenets ng international law,” she said.

In a separate interview, Senator JV Ejercito, who had been criticizing China’s aggression in the West Philippine Sea, said he was inclined to support Hontiveros' resolution.

“I would support that because in recent months, the Chinese Coast Guard, in particular, has been very hostile na… to our fishermen, to the Philippine Coast Guard and even to our Navy men… It has become a very regular occurrence already,” Ejercito told reporters.

“Parang Hindi nakakatuwa that they are saying we are allies, we are friends. ‘Yung kaliwang kamay nagbibigay sila ng fertilizer doon sa Valenzuela para sa atin, pero ‘yung kanang kamay naman hina-harass naman ang ating Navy, Coast Guard at fisherfolk,” he added.

The lawmaker noted that there were more than 100 notes verbales sent by the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs but there was no action on the part of China.

For Ejercito, the Philippine government must exhaust all diplomatic means including the proposal to elevate this matter before the UN.

“I will support Senator Risa Hontiveros’ proposal that the President should bring this matter already to the United Nations para i-enforce ang Hague ruling [and] that the disputed territories will be part of the Philippine territory,” he added.

China claimed the entire West Philippine Sea even if the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration junked the expansive claim in its July 2016 ruling. The same 2016 Hague court decision also declared the Panatag Shoal a common fishing ground for countries and outlawed China’s aggression against Philippine vessels, including preventing Filipino fishermen from accessing the Scarborough (Panatag) Shoal.

Further, the Hague ruling upheld that the Panganiban (Mischief) Reef, Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal, and Recto (Reed) Bank are all within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone as provided by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

China, however, refuses to recognize the Hague ruling to this day.

Just last week, Filipino fisherfolk in Pag-asa Island, which is within the Philippines’ 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone, lamented that China had been blocking their access to the rich fishing ground, leaving them distressed and hungry. — DVM, GMA Integrated News