The government must maintain its strong defense surrounding the Pag-asa Island and some areas in the West Philippines Sea that are still part of the Philippine territory based on the 2016 arbitration resolution.

This is what the maritime law expert, Dir. Jay Batongbacal said after reports surfaced that Chinese coast guards are preventing Filipino fishermen from fishing in the disputed territory.

Batongbacal said, the presence of China’s naval vessels in the said area is a tactic that Philippine authorities should note as an indication of the need to strengthen its defenses in the country’s territory.

“In a way, it’s not new. But what makes it important is that, it is clearly being employed to monitor and to maybe make it difficult for the Philippines to carry out its repair works on the island,” Batongbacal said.

However, according to defense analyst, Jose Antonio Custodio, the government still has to take an action to protect the Filipino fishermen in the disputed territory.

Batongbacal also suggested that the government should carry out a protest against the harassment that Chinese vessels are inflicting on Filipino fishermen despite warming relations with China following the administration’s foreign policy rebalancing towards Asia.

“A protest is necessary, even a quiet one, just to make sure we will never be seen as having accepted the situation,” Batongbacal said.

Meanwhile, Malacañang is yet to confirm with the Department of National Defense reports about the alleged harassment of Filipino fishermen. — Freema Salonga- Gloria (with reports from Nel Maribojoc)

Tags: Chinese vessels, Pag-asa Island, West Philippine Sea

Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said on Wednesday he has already directed the military to validate the report on the alleged harassment of Filipino fishermen in sandbars near Pag-asa Island.

The Department of National Defense (DND) said in a statement that there has been no substantiated report from its units on the ground that can confirm claims made by Kalayaan Mayor Roberto del Mundo, based on the initial communication from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Western Mindanao Command (WESCOM).

“The AFP, through the Naval Forces West under WESCOM, will nonetheless continuously validate and report any information relevant to Mayor del Mundo’s claims,” the DND statement read.

Earlier this week, Mayor del Mundo claimed that more than a dozen Chinese vessels were sighted near Pag-asa Island and were intimidating Filipino fishermen.

The local official further said the Chinese vessels are driving local fishermen away from Sandy Cay which is situated between Pag-asa Island and China’s artificial island in Subi reef.

Pag-asa island (also known as Thitu island) is the seat of the Palawan municipality of Kalayaan.

The DND, however, noted that the said area where the alleged harassment occurred is a traditional fishing ground for the Philippines and other countries, including China and Vietnam.

AFP WESCOM has also urged people from Pag-asa Island to continue their activities in the said area since “it has been observed that they have not been fishing in the vicinity of the sandbar, even before the Chinese fishing vessels were sighted in the area,” the DND added.

A sheltered port in Pag-asa is now being constructed to help local fishermen, the DND said.

A maritime law expert, meanwhile, urged the Philippine government to use the reported harassment to intensify its monitoring and patrol operations in the disputed territories in the West Philippine Sea.

Professor Jay Batongbacal, director of the University of the Philippines (UP) Institute for Maritime Affairs, also believes that filing a diplomatic protest over the said incident is necessary even if the Duterte administration is keeping a careful tread amid its warming relations with China.

“A protest is necessary, even a quiet one, just to make sure that we will never be seen as having accepted the situation,” Batongbacal said.

“I guess the best response was simply to increase vigilance and for our people to continue what they are doing,” Batongbacal added. – Robie de Guzman (with a report from Correspondent Nel Maribojoc)

Tags: China, Department of National Defense, harassment, Pagasa Island, South China Sea, West Philippine Sea

The United States has always assured the Philippines of aid amid sea dispute with China, according to defense expert and Institute for Policy, Strategy, and Development Studies member, Jose Antonio Custodio.

Custodio said there is nothing new with this statement because even previous American officials have said it before.

“Kung ano iyong sinabi ni [Mike] Pompeo, it’s what exactly mentioned also by earlier American officials, Thomas Hubbard to be exact,” he said.

(Whatever Pompeo said, it’s what exactly mentioned also by earlier American officials, Thomas Hubbard to be exact.)

He also said that it would be better for the Philippines to strengthen their own capabilities in defending its territory.

Meanwhile, President Rodrigo Duterte said it might be difficult for the United States to provide assistance to the country if there will be an attack in the West Philippine Sea.

“Sabi ko, okay man sinabi ni Mattis sa akin: ‘We guarantee you na nandiyan kami sa likod.’ Pero ang problema nito, iyong i-invoke niya iyong Defense US Treaty which was entered into by us, by our — mga ninuno natin. Ang attack sa America or ang attack sa atin pareho. But sa America, magdaan pa ng Congress. Any declaration of war will pass Congress,” Duterte said during his speech in Zamboanga City last Sunday.

(I said, what Mattis said was okay: ‘We guarantee, we have your back’. But the problem is, he invoked the Defense US Treaty which was entered into us by our ancestors. The attack on America or attack against us is the same but in America, it will go through Congress. Any declaration of war will pass Congress.)

Malacañang had previously said that the seven-decade-old treaty need amendments.

“There may be some kinks in the treaty that need to be clarified. It’s much better perhaps that it’s clear-cut in the treaty itself so I think there’s still a need to review despite the policy statement,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said during a press briefing.

However, for Custodio, there is no need to amend the treaty because “the treaty itself is good enough message that if China attacks us, then they will have to face the US.”

The Mutual Defense Treaty was signed in Washington on August 30, 1951 and it aims to further strengthen the collective defense of the Philippine and the US.

Based on the treaty it desires “for the preservation of peace and security pending the development of a more comprehensive system of regional security in the Pacific area.” —Aileen Cerrudo (with reports from Nel Maribojoc)

Tags: Malacanang, President Rodrigo Duterte, United States, West Philippine Sea