Manila vows ‘to steadfastly defend’ disputed sea

Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario. AP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – The country will defend the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) which is “legitimately ours,” Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) secretary Albert del Rosario said Wednesday.

“In the past year, we became witness to persistent threats on the peace and stability of our region,” del Rosario said in his speech during the 115th DFA Foundation Day and the 149th Birth Anniversary of Apolinario Mabini, the first Secretary of Foreign Affairs then under the administration of Emilio Aguinaldo.

“Amidst the developments in the West Philippine Sea, we continue to steadfastly defend what is legitimately ours. Defending our country, including our maritime territory, is a fundamental right of the Filipino people,” del Rosario said.

The country has been involved in a territorial dispute with China over the West Philippine Sea with several Chinese coast guard and fishing ships going within the Philippine’s 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone.

China claims the entire region of open sea as the South China Sea and has marked off its claim in maps cutting close to the shoreline of several southeast Asian countries namely Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

Last April 2012, Chinese fishing vessels were apprehended in Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal or Panatag Shoal) for poaching of several endemic Philippine marine species such as sharks, giant clams, and corals.

Tensions have been high between the two countries since with China refusing to participate in international arbitration before the United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Seas (Unclos).

“Through all of these, we at the DFA ensured that the Philippines stood firmly as the voice of reason, championing an advocacy for peaceful relations through diplomatic consultations and strict adherence to international law,” del Rosario said.

“We have reaffirmed before the international community the Philippines’ legitimate rights in the West Philippine Sea by initiating arbitral proceedings under Unclos,” he said.