Chinese surveillance ships are seen off Scarborough Shoal in his undated file photo taken by the Philippine Navy and released by the Department of Foreign Affairs. AFP/DFA
MANILA, Philippines—Muntinlupa Rep. Rodolfo Biazon urged Malacañang on Friday to order government vessels back to Scarborough Shoal to reestablish Philippine sovereignty in the area that China now controls.
“We have to go back. It doesn’t matter how many ships we deploy, we just have to show China that we are not giving up our claim to Panatag Shoal,” Biazon said, using the Philippines’ name for Scarborough Shoal, in a phone interview.
President Benigno Aquino III ordered a Philippine Coast Guard patrol vessel and a Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources survey ship home from the shoal last Friday night, citing bad weather.
But China did not withdraw its vessels from the shoal, despite an agreement with the Philippines to clear the area, which would have ended a two-month standoff that strained relations between the two countries.
Realizing the Philippine withdrawal had been premature, President Aquino said Wednesday a surveillance plane would be sent over the shoal when the weather cleared and if the Chinese vessels were still there, he would order the two vessels back to the area.
Biazon said the government made the right decision when it called home the two vessels on Friday, as the weather was bad.
“As a former naval officer, I would like to say based on experience that we cannot risk the lives of our crew with an incoming typhoon,” Biazon said. “The withdrawal is not a blunder. We can always come back and I think we should come back soon,” he said.
Biazon said that just like other government officials, he erred by expecting the Chinese to reciprocate and ensure the safety of their vessels’ crew.
“I guess they have different priorities,” said Biazon.
Insisting that the Scarborough Shoal standoff was the fault of the Philippines, China on Thursday urged the government of President Aquino to refrain from making remarks that could influence public opinion on the territorial dispute between the two countries in the West Philippine Sea.
In a statement posted on the Chinese government’s website, Hong Lei, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, disapproved of President Aquino’s statements to the press on Wednesday that a military plane would fly over the shoal once the weather cleared and he would order government vessels back there if Chinese ships were still in the area.
“China hopes the Philippine side will do more to help the development of bilateral ties and refrain from stirring public opinion, so as to safeguard the recovery of bilateral ties,” Hong said.
He said “Philippine warships’ harassment of Chinese fishermen in early April single-handedly caused the tension in the area.”
“The Philippines’ tough, high-profile stance on the issue continued to heighten tensions after the incident,” Hong said.
But tensions have eased recently, he said, and the two sides are trying to repair bilateral relations.
China’s refusal to pull back its vessels from the shoal after the Philippines withdrew its vessels at the height of a typhoon threat in the West Philippine Sea last Friday prompted President Aquino’s decision to send the ships back. With reports from Dona Z Pazzibugan and New York Times News Service