Senate reso urges executive branch to ‘exert all legal, diplomatic measures’ vs China

HOUNDED AT SEA China Coast Guard personnel aboard their rigid hull inflatable boat (left), in this photo taken on Feb. 16, trails a small Philippine boat carrying Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources personnel from the BRP Datu Tamblot trying to enter Scarborough Shoal, as a larger Chinese vessel is seen in the West Philippine Sea. (File photo from AFP)

MANILA, Philippines — A resolution urging the executive branch to “exert all legal and diplomatic countermeasures” to put an end to China’s continued aggression and illegal activities in the West Philippine Sea has been filed in the Senate.

Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva’s proposed Senate 980 specifically expressed the chamber’s strong condemnation for China’s “unprovoked aggression, continued harassment, and illegal and dangerous actions in the West Philippine Sea.”

In his resolution filed on Monday, Villanueva emphasized that China, on numerous occasions, continued to assert its claim and build its presence in the West Philippine Sea despite the historic arbitral ruling.

“In its latest act of unprovoked aggression in the West Philippine Sea last March 23, 2023, China Coast Guard harassed and used water cannons against the wooden Unaizah May 4, a Philippine resupply boat that was en route to the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal,” Villanueva detailed.

“On the same day, another incident of harassment at sea by the Chinese was reported near Pag-asa Island,” the senator recalled.

“The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources reported that a Chinese helicopter hovered dangerously close to a group of Filipino scientists doing research to work on a sand bar called Sandy Cay. The scientists struggled to keep the boat steady, and one of them almost drowned,” he added.

READ: Villanueva on China’s aggression in WPS: ‘Sa manlulupig, di ka pasisiil’

Villanueva said China’s actions and response to the recent incidents are “concerning,” considering that President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and President Xi Jinping have agreed to “avoid escalation of tensions in the Ayungin Shoal.”

READ: PH, China to ‘deal calmly’ with maritime incidents

The proposed resolution likewise noted that President Marcos has already directed officials of the country’s defense and national security establishments to implement a response and “countermeasure package” in light of China’s actions.

While the Senate supports the chief executive’s directive, it still urged the Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of National Defense and other relevant government agencies to “exhaust and pursue necessary mechanisms” to put an end to China’s continued aggression.

“[This is] to protect our people and our national territory and ensure peace and stability in the region,” Villanueva said.