A lawmaker on Wednesday stressed the need to boost Philippine maritime security through a national program to modernize the Philippine Navy and strengthen the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).
Albay Rep. Joey Salceda made the statement following a recent assertion from China that Panatag Shoal is part of its “inherent territory.”
“Panatag is ours, that much is clear. But anyone who has done real estate knows that possession and security matter almost as much as legal ownership. So, we have to invest in our naval, air, and coastal defense capabilities,” Salceda said.
He said while the country must pursue the diplomatic path, it would be difficult if its terms cannot be enforced by a credible defense.
“The Philippines is a maritime state. Our domestic insurgency has forced us to focus much of our energies on land-based security, but really, most of our territory is unhampered water. So, as we remove the socioeconomic roots of internal insurgency, we must begin the shift from land-based security to maritime security,” he said.
On Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin justified the Chinese Coast Guard’s action by maintaining that the disputed shoal is “China’s inherent territory.”
“We hope that the Philippine ships will earnestly respect China’s sovereignty and rights and interests, abide by China’s domestic law and international law, and avoid interfering with the patrol and law enforcement of the China Coast Guard in the above-mentioned waters,” Wang said, referring to a moniker used by China to refer to Bajo de Masinloc.
Salceda said a credible defense posture is “the strongest and most important diplomatic leverage a country can attain.”
“It sends a clear message to potential adversaries: Let’s keep the peace because war will be as painful for you as it will be for us,” he said.
He proposed a three-pillar approach to guaranteeing security in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
He said the Philippines can pursue mutual security guarantees with other countries that have legitimate claims over the region, such as settling claims among themselves; mutually defending the total area claimed by the parties, and welcoming security guarantees over the area by other external guarantors.
“The benefit to this is: If you encroach upon this community of mutual support, all underdogs on their own but a potent force together, you automatically look like the bad guy to the world. And, of course, as we see now in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, losing the moral high ground has very painful economic and political consequences on the perceived aggressor,” he said.
Malacañang, for its part, maintained that the Philippines has “full sovereignty” over Bajo de Masinloc in the WPS.
“The Philippine position is we continue to exercise full sovereignty over Bajo de Masinloc and its territorial sea, as well as sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the surrounding EEZ (exclusive economic zone) and continental shelf,” acting presidential spokesperson Martin Andanar said.
Over the weekend, the PCG reported that a CCG ship conducted a “close distance maneuvering” towards one of its ships, BRP Malabrigo, in Bajo de Masinloc on March 2, 2022.
The PCG said the incident is “a clear violation of the 1972 International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS).”
PCG Commandant Admiral Artemio Abu said the incident was the fourth reported close distance maneuvering incident involving CCG vessels in Bajo de Masinloc. (PNA)