Skip to main content

China Invades Philippines

President Benigno S. Aquino III said he has instructed the Dept. of Foreign Affairs to ask China to clarify reports saying Chinese authorities will board ships that will enter its territorial waters in the disputed West Philippine Sea.

In an interview here during a Liberal Party meeting, the President said he told Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario to raise the issue with China to know whether the action is an official state policy.

"Kung mapatunayan na meron talagang ganoong kautusan, hindi proposal, at talagang gagawin nila... maglo-lodge tayo ng isang diplomatic note or formal protest. And it also tells us where to go to in terms of advancing our interest," the President said.

"We might accelerate and bring it before the appropriate international tribunal to finally settle the matter, or at least start the process of settling it legally and concretely," he added.

Asked if he'll consider appealing to China not to exacerbate the situation, the President said he made it clear during the 21st ASEAN Summit in Cambodia, particularly during the East Asia Summit, that countries must work together to ease the tensions in the West Philippine Sea, and that everyone must show goodwill.

But the President said he doesn't want to jump into conclusions, that's why he asked the DFA to clarify the issue with China first before the Philippines does an appropriate response.

"Hintayin natin ma-determine fully kung ano ba talaga ang kanilang bagong patakaran, kung meron man. At kung mapatunayan..., kikilos tayo nang kaalinsunod doon sa…kung may kilos silang ganyan. Kung wala naman ay hindi tayo magdadagdag ng tensiyon," the President said.

China's state media said Thursday police in Hainan will board and search ships that will enter into what China considers its territorial waters in the disputed West Philippine Sea.

The new rules come into effect on Jan 1 and will allow Hainan police to board and seize control of foreign ships said to be illegally entering Chinese waters.

China claims sovereignty over most, if not all of the West Philippine Sea that is believed to be rich in natural gas and mineral deposits.

Aside from these resources, the area is important because it serves as a major sea lane to world's trade and commerce.

The Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Taiwan and Malaysia all lay claims to the disputed territories.

The President also said the country may have a new ambassador to China by February to replace Sonia Brady who vacated the post a few months ago for health reasons.

He said that he will discuss the matter with Secretary Del Rosario Monday.

He said the Foreign Secretary had told him about a very capable candidate for the post.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Buried Treasures in Bohol Philippines

Written by Joe Espiritu       Four persons died in a treasure hunting accident last week. They died for nothing. Many had lost their shirts in the venture, the propensity for Filipinos to get rich quick attribute to the treasure hunting mania. The sad part is that only the ignorant venture on the search, those in the know, being sure that nothing will come out of the effort would not think of investing money, time and effort – this time lives – in a fruitless enterprise.        There had been stories of people getting rich uncovering treasure troves in unlikely places. Most stories are false. Ancient graves of archeological and anthropological value had been desecrated by treasure hunters. They had found nothing. Those people may have struck it rich but not from some hidden riches. Contrary to what other people say, there are no buried treasures in Bohol . If there had been, they were unearthed years ago.         If one traces the history of this province from the first time the huma
Post a Comment
Read more

Davao Culinary Night

DAVAO CITY, Feb. 14, 2020 (PIA) -- The Davao Tourism Association (DATA) recently held the first-ever One Davao Culinary Night which featured indigenous inspired dishes concocted by its member chefs . Founded in 1974, the DATA is a group composed of stakeholders coming from tourism-related establishments in Davao Region. The One Davao Culinary Night at the Marco Polo Davao Ballroom on January 31 was held to coincide with the group’s belated 75th anniversary celebration. “What we really wanted to do is to define what is Davao cuisine. When we formed the DATA chef’s club composed of 10 chefs coming from our DATA restaurant members we were able to collaborate and learn from the immersion that we did with the two indigenous tribes we invited- the Kagan and the Tagabawa,” Gatchi Gatchalian, DATA president said. Gatchalian said they wanted the people to discover what Davao cuisine is, as people associate Davao cuisine to ihaw-ihaw (grilled specialties) and kinilaw (cerviche). Gatchalian
Post a Comment
Read more

Sourcing of Agricultural Products

DAVAO CITY, Feb. 19, 2020 -- The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) signed partnership agreements on Monday, February 17, 2020, with various government agencies and a private institution for the sourcing of agricultural products from agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARB) in this province. These institutions are the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology Region XI, Department of Health Region XI, Davao Regional Medical Center, Southern Philippines Medical Center, and Medical Mission Group Hospital which all agreed to assist in the government’s fight against hunger and poverty in the countryside under the Enhanced Partnership Against Hunger and Poverty program (EPAHP). Cabinet Secretary and EPAHP Committee Chairman Karlo B. Nograles said these partnerships work in two ways. It provides institutions with a steady supply of food items, such as rice, vegetables, root crops and other farm produce, while the farmers gain regular markets for their farm yields. “EPAHP is our government’s
Post a Comment
Read more