Commodore Jay Tarriela, Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson for WPS. INQUIRER.net file photo / Arnel Tacson
MANILA, Philippines — Filipinos are urged not to be influenced by what a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) official calls “fabricated stories” of China over its supposed agreement with the Philippines in 2016 regarding Scarborough (Panatag) Shoal.
Commodore Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, categorically denied Beijing’s embassy’s claim of a “temporary special arrangement” in which Manila effectively gave up its sovereign rights in the sandbank inside its exclusive economic zone.
READ: China bares ‘special arrangement’ with PH on Scarborough in 2016
“We have no temporary special arrangements whatsoever,” Tarriela said in a statement sent to reporters.
Under the purported agreement on Panatag Shoal, Filipino fishermen could fish with small fishing boats while the PCG, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and other Philippine government vessels and aircraft were barred from entering the 12 nautical miles and corresponding air space of the sandbank.
The Chinese embassy spokesperson further noted that the Philippines abided with the decision for several years until President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. “disrupted” the arrangement.
PH disregards China’s ‘imaginary’ lines
The embassy’s bombshell revelation was made in response to Tarriela’s revelation that the PCG and government vessels began crossing the 12 nautical mile territorial waters of Panatag Shoal.
China seized control of Panatag Shoal’s lagoon in 2012 after a China Coast Guard standoff with Philippine vessels. At least two CCG ships have been permanently deployed inside the lagoon since then.
“This spokesperson from PCG didn’t shy away from admitting the fact that the current Philippine administration crossed the red line in [Panatag Shoal],” the embassy stressed.
But Tarriela said Manila does not recognize Beijing’s demarcations, which he also called imaginary and contradictory to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 2016 Arbitral Award.
Beijing asserts sovereignty in the entire South China Sea — including most of the West Philippine Sea — despite the July 2016 arbitral tribunal ruling that effectively invalidated its claims based on a case filed by Manila in 2013.
This landmark decision also included Scarborough Shoal, which was declared a traditional fishing ground that should be shared by the Philippines, China, and Vietnam.
“Those lines are not recognized by the Philippine government, and it does not actually exist. We have successfully proven that it is merely a product of their imagination. It is unnecessary for us to adhere to that line,” Tarriela said.
“We will demonstrate to the world that these lines drawn by bully countries like China are baseless and serve only to intimidate the Philippines using their bigger coast guard vessels and maritime militia,” he also added.
Don’t heed China’s diversion, ‘bait’
On Tuesday, CCG directly hit a PCG vessel with a water cannon in the latest move over the Panatag Shoal seen by Manila as an escalation.
Tarriela said that China’s recent pronouncements are just a way to divert attention to its latest actions in Panatag Shoal.
“Let us not be influenced by their fabricated stories once again, which aim to confuse the Filipino people and divert the public discourse from the real issue of their harassment and provocative actions in Bajo De Masinloc,” Tarriela said.
A security expert, meanwhile, said the public should not heed the “bait” of China with regard to their claim of “temporary special arrangements.”
“Whether it is temporary or permanent, if we bite the bait, then it will grow to bigger issues again,” said Chester Cabalza, president and founder of the Manila-based think tank International Development and Security Cooperation, in a message to INQUIRER.net.
Cabalza also said that the country should be “consistent and firm” in its stand and narrative.
“The Philippines must be firm and courageous,” Cabalza said.
“We are in the age of post-truth era where Beijing exploits all the means to get what they want,” he added.