Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros on Monday hailed the latest joint patrol in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), saying the exercise “help put China in her place.”
“The joint patrols are a clear display of our resistance to China’s bullying. These exercises demonstrate the commitment of the international community to uphold the rules-based order in the entire South China Sea,” Hontiveros said in a statement.
“It shows that we who believe in the rule of law will not tolerate any form of violence, threat, or intimidation. I do think that these help put China in her place,” she added.
Hontiveros, a staunch critic of China’s aggression in the WPS, said that it is time for the Beijing government to “uphold and honor its commitments to the international framework established by the UNCLOS and the BBNJ (biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction) Agreement.”
“It has always been clear that it is China who is provoking tensions in the West Philippine Sea — not us — so it is China who must stop her aggression,” she ended.
In a chance interview with reporters, ex-military officer and former senator Gringo Honasan said these maritime cooperative activities with allied countries are important in maintaining the balance of power in the WPS.
“China has been affronting us for a long time already. So how can they view this as an affront to China? This is reciprocal. That’s par for the course. Deterrent effect. Equilibrium that translates into order. Balance of power,” Honasan said.
Despite this, Honasan emphasized the need for a plan to resolve disputes in a peaceful manner.
“But beyond that, they should have a plan how to resolve this peacefully, either through the international bodies or in the absence of that, ‘yung mobilization plans natin to prepare for any eventuality. Focus on the real issues,” he added.
Over the weekend, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Romeo Brawner Jr. announced that the Philippines is conducting joint maritime drills within its territorial waters with the defense forces of Australia, Japan, New Zealand and the United States.
Brawner said the joint maritime drills with the US, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand underscore the nations’ shared commitments to upholding the right to freedom of navigation and overflight, other lawful uses of the sea and international airspace, as well as respect for maritime rights under international law, as reflected in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). —RF, GMA Integrated News
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