President Benigno Aquino III. 蜜桃工作室 file photo
BONGABONG, Oriental Mindoro鈥擯resident Benigno Aquino III is not about to be flustered by the fiery language of Chinese officials.
The President said Sunday he did not think China would go to war with the Philippines over Scarborough Shoal.
Mr. Aquino was asked by reporters during a visit here to comment on a Chinese general鈥檚 call for China to take decisive actions against the Philippines to resolve the territorial dispute in the area which Filipino officials alternatively call Panatag Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc.
He replied that there were more 鈥渟evere鈥� headlines in the official Chinese newspaper People鈥檚 Daily, pointing to one that said, 鈥淧repare to hear the sounds of canons.鈥� He said that the Chinese were fond of speaking in 鈥渕etaphors.鈥�
鈥淲e don鈥檛 think that at this point in time that they will engage in any military activities,鈥� the President said. He said that since the impasse began three weeks ago, he had taken actions 鈥済eared toward deescalating the situation.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 clear it is to nobody鈥檚 benefit, and there are a lot of repercussions, if any military force happens to be employed here. So we think that is more a statement that lacks substance. It鈥檚 not indicative of the real intentions,鈥� he said.
He added that the general 鈥渄id not command policy in the People鈥檚 Republic.鈥�
Gathering evidence
The President said the government had been documenting developments at Scarborough Shoal as possible evidence against China before an appropriate international body.
He also said that the Department of Justice was consulting with various departments 鈥渢o really define the basis of all the rules and regulations and which local and international laws that we subscribe to are currently in operation.鈥�
Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario left on Saturday for Washington for talks with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday. Joining the discussions that will include the Scarborough impasse will be Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and his US counterpart, Leon Panatta.
He told reporters that the talks would center on increasing 鈥渙ur capacity for territorial defense and maritime security鈥� under the Mutual Defense Treaty. He said this year US defense assistance would reach $144.66 million.
Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago said in an interview over dzBB that China might be inadvertently 鈥渋nvading鈥� the Philippines with its presence in Scarborough Shoal.
Santiago, an expert in international law who has been elected to the International Criminal Court, advocated a 鈥渂inding regional code of conduct鈥� among claimant-nations to force China to talk peace.
Customary law
She said the diplomatic protest lodged by Manila against Beijing since the April 10 standoff 鈥渨ill be useful when we meet before an international court that 鈥� It will be evidentiary proof, among many other pieces of evidence, that we鈥檙e being consistent and have been practicing international public customary law.鈥�
鈥淭he Senate should pass a resolution proclaiming our territorial sovereignty over Scarborough Shoal and explaining what is the basis, and referring it to the Department of Foreign Affairs for referral to China. That鈥檚 how it will play out,鈥� Santiago said.
Show courage
鈥淲e鈥檙e repeating this over and over again because that is one of the requirements of the international customary law, repetition, so we must repeatedly assert that it is ours,鈥� she said.
Philanthropist Loida Nicolas-Lewis has called on the government to 鈥渟how courage鈥� by hitting back at China for 鈥渂ullying鈥� small countries like the Philippines and violating the country鈥檚 territorial sovereignty.
鈥淐hina is a bully 鈥� She must be hit with moves like trade tariff. Let the Philippine Congress show its courage by passing a law that would impose tariff on all Chinese goods,鈥� Lewis told the Philippine Daily Inquirer on Saturday.
鈥淚f China files a case against us before the World Trade Organization for violation of the free trade agreement, then we could pursue our plan to bring the Scarborough Shoal case to the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (based in Hamburg, Germany),鈥� said Lewis, chair of the New York-based US Pinoys for Good Governance. With reports from Michael Lim Ubac and Jerry E. Esplanada