FILIPINOS being denied access to exploit the country’s exclusive economic zone is a result of cowardice and neglect by the present administration.
“It is five years of missed opportunities at the West Philippine Sea,” said Vice President Leni Gerona-Robredo during the 5th anniversary of the July 12, 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague that affirmed the sovereign rights of the Philippines over portions of the WPS which is now being occupied by China.
The Hague Ruling considered China’s nine-dash line territorial claim that encroaches on the 200-kilometer exclusive economic zone of the Philippines as baseless and violates the United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Seas (UNCLOS).
“Since then, the national leadership has yet to fully flex the ruling as an instrument to pursue our national interests, failing to invoke it in strong enough terms in the forums that matter most. Our fisherfolk remain unable to enter areas that have been the source of livelihood for generations of Filipinos.”
The Hague Ruling which has been hailed by the US, Japan, Australia, the European Union, and Southeast Asian countries who have also staked claims of the South China Sea has been viewed as an opportunity for the Philippines to lead a global alliance against Chinese territorial incursion and increased military presence in one of the world’s busiest international sea lane.
Alliances that could have been strengthened were allowed to erode, while those who bully their way into our waters have been treated with deference, and at times, subservience. The dream of a regional architecture founded on respect and mutual prosperity has become even more elusive.
“The Hague ruling is now a definitive part of international law. It cannot be erased from the history books, and cannot be denied despite the unending lies spewed forth by formidable machinery of disinformation,” said Robredo, a lawyer by profession.
The vice president rallied the people to unite “if only we can rediscover our spirit and once again stand for what is right — we will find, beneath the rubble of cowardice and neglect, our courage, our dignity, and our national pride.”
Meanwhile, Sen. Kiko Pangilinan emphasized the importance of the Filipino asserting rights over their waters, which is key to addressing hunger, poverty, and high power cost.
The senator pointed out that the waters of the West Philippine Sea are home to vast marine resources, from oil and gas reserves deep beneath its surface to the fish and other seafood that could support the people's needs as well as provide a source of income to Filipino fishermen.
“May mga banta na ng brownouts, ng linggo-linggong pagtaas ng presyo ng langis, at ang gutom na kinakaharap ng milyon-milyong Pilipino. Ang sagot sa lahat ng ito ay ang responsableng paggamit ng yaman ng ating karagatan,” Pangilinan said.
The minority Liberal Party drew inspiration from the words of former President Benigno Simeon Aquino III: “We stood up to them at the onset and now so many others are doing the same. We stood up to China because it was the right thing to do,” the Liberal Party remembers the late president saying in accepting the favorable Hague Ruling.
A Pulse Asia poll released in November 2020 revealed that 65% of Filipinos want the government to defend the integrity of Philippine territory against foreigners. (CBC)
