MANILA – Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. is “considering demarche” or a protest through diplomatic channels after China said that Julian Felipe Reef – which is inside the country’s economic zone – is part of China’s Nansha Islands.
“Considering a demarche,” Locsin said in a Twitter post on Sunday. “Coming and going fishing makes no claim of possession per se; it is only when Chinese embassy claimed the area as Chinese territory – as evidenced by the swarm – that it becomes problematic.”
“Oddly, if it is a strategy and not idiocy then swarming accomplishes nothing; they were doing this in consonance with claim of traditional fishing. Chinese were doing this in 1s, 2s and 3s,” he added.
Last month, the secretary filed a diplomatic protest against China after more than 200 Chinese ships were seen in the Julian Felipe Reef, a large boomerang-shaped shallow coral reef at the northeast of Pagkakaisa Banks and Reefs (Union Reefs) located approximately 175 nautical miles west of Bataraza, Palawan. The “maritime militias”, were first seen in the area on March 7.
However, the Chinese Embassy denied that the ships were operated by its maritime militia personnel, saying it has been a “normal practice” for Chinese fishing vessels to take shelter near the reef.
On Sunday, Sec. Delfin Lorenzana of the Department of National Defense said that China should stop conducting illegal activities in the West Philippine Sea and respect the country’s sovereignty.
“China should respect Philippine sovereignty over the Kalayaan Islands, as well as its sovereign rights over its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) as defined by UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) and affirmed by the arbitral award,” he said.
“As a party to the DOC (Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea), China should refrain from conducting illegal activities that disturb regional and international peace and security,” he added./PN
