Ungrateful guest
At the Independence Day Vin d’Honneur reception hosted by President Marcos for diplomats and top officials in Malacañang on Friday, the presence of Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Jing Quan would have been a welcome gesture amid tense relations between the Philippines and China over Chinese provocative actions in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
After all, the event was replete with meaning. In commemorating the 128th anniversary of Philippine independence from Spanish colonial rule in 1898, Mr. Marcos took the occasion to call for cooperation among nations to advance peace, stability, and a rules-based international order.
“As we have always done, as a founding member of the United Nations, the Philippines will work with all nations in pursuing peace, stability, sustainable development, and a rules-based international order. These we will always uphold and advance in the global community,” the President said in a toast at the dinner reception attended by the dean of the diplomatic corps and ambassadors from around the world, as well as top government officials.
But just the day before the diplomatic reception, China made a rare move: it announced sanctions on Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. for having “repeatedly made irresponsible remarks on China” that “undermines China’s legitimate interests and sabotages China-Philippines relations.”
In bad taste
“To uphold China’s sovereignty, security and development interests, China has decided to prohibit Teodoro, his spouse, and child from entering the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, and Macao,” according to the statement. Chinese entities were also prohibited from conducting business with Teodoro and his family.
The Chinese foreign ministry did not provide details about Teodoro’s specific offenses that provoked such an unprecedented move, although it was obviously in retaliation for the defense secretary’s staunch criticisms of China’s incursions in the WPS.
It was not known if Jing whispered anything to the President to justify or explain such harsh action during the reception, when friendly nations broke bread and offered toasts of goodwill. Otherwise, his presence there was in bad taste.
Indeed, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) called the ban on Teodoro an “unfriendly act.”
“While the imposition of sanctions is China’s sovereign prerogative, the Philippines views it as an unfriendly act that further complicates the bilateral relations,” said the DFA statement.
Floating structure
The DFA must go beyond issuing a statement and file a diplomatic protest. The President must summon Jing back to the Palace to convey his displeasure at the recent Chinese acts that further escalate tensions in the WPS.
Aside from the Teodoro ban, the government must pursue its diplomatic protest and take stronger action regarding the discovery of a Chinese floating structure with six personnel on board in Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal.
Officials said the Chinese crew could be conducting unauthorized marine scientific research on the shoal, locally known as Bajo de Masinloc, which lies about 220 kilometers from Luzon and within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Experts have warned that this floating structure could be a prelude to China building a military structure on the atoll and permanently occupying it, as it has done with other features in the WPS over the decades.
The Philippines must not allow this to happen, as it would be a big blow to its assertion of sovereign territorial rights, which the 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling upheld.
The very same shoal was the reason why the Philippines sought arbitration before the arbitral court after China effectively took control of it following a tense standoff with the Philippine Navy in 2012. The Philippines won the arbitration with the court declaring China’s claims over the WPS as invalid, but China refused to accept the ruling.
Inaugural vow
The Panatag and Teodoro incidents happened a week after the Philippines and China commemorated the 51st anniversary of diplomatic relations on June 3, further showing that diplomatic niceties will never work with China determined to assert its intransigent claim.
Not even the Philippines-China Bilateral Consultation Mechanism, a high-level forum aimed at managing the maritime disputes between the two countries, made headway in dissuading China from intruding into the Philippine EEZ.
According to Palace Press Officer Claire Castro, the President was aware of the floating structure and would not allow China to seize control of Panatag Shoal.
Then the Philippines must keep a tight monitoring and documentation of Chinese activities around the shoal, and file the necessary case before the arbitral court at the appropriate time.
Mr. Marcos’ inaugural vow—to never yield an inch of Philippine territory—now becomes more imperative and urgent. Blink, and we could really lose Panatag Shoal before we know it.
