Rodriguez asks China to pull out vessels from WPS
DEPUTY Speaker and Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez on Wednesday urged China to pull out all its military and civilian vessels from the West Philippine Sea (WPS) and to respect Philippine sovereignty over the area.
Rodriguez made the appeal in response to Beijing’s statement for the Philippines to stop exercises in the WPS by the Philippine Coast Guard and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and to respect Chinese sovereignty over the disputed sea.
“That statement is ridiculous. That area is part of our 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) under the United Nations Law of the Sea and the ruling of the UN arbitral court. We have every right to patrol it, conduct drills there and explore it for its fishery and other natural resources. But they are the ones taking tons and tons of fishes and destroying the environment there,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez said it is China that should not be in the WPS “because that is not part of their EEZ.”
“They should leave the WPS. They are the interloper,” he stressed.
He pointed out that the WPS is about 600 miles from China.
“In contrast, up north, Scarborough Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc to Filipino fishermen, is just 120 miles off the coast of Zambales and Pangasinan. They are in control of it despite the fact that it is within our EEZ,” he said.
Down south, Julian Felipe Reef, which is 175 miles from Bataraza, Palawan, where they still maintain presence despite our repeated protests, “is also part of our EEZ,” he said.
“So they are claiming and occupying a large part of the sea that should exclusively belong to us under international law, and illegally taking resources from it. They are the ones complicating the situation, not us,” the House leader added.
House Deputy Minority Leader and Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate called on the Duterte administration to “defend the Philippine’s environment and resources from China’s exploitation.”
“China’s expansionist and militaristic base building has already caused massive environmental damage to our country and is depleting our natural resources. The Duterte administration should act now to stop these environmentally degrading activities or there would be nothing left for future generations,” Zarate said.
Zarate said environmental and scientist groups like Kalikasan, Agham and Homonhon have reported many instances of China’s “destructive activities!, and, they are staggering and alarming.”
“Agham, for example, said that Chinese activities in the disputed seascapes in the West Philippine Sea resulted in at least 16,000 hectares of destroyed reefs as of 2017. The damage is estimated to reach up to P 33.1 billion per year if the encroachment continues,” said Zarate, a Davao-based lawmaker.
“Homonhon meanwhile said that dredging and mining operations were ongoing in the Davao Region, Central Mindanao, Northern Luzon, and other Visayas regions with the soil dumped to build China’s structures in the West Philippine Sea,” Zarate stressed.
“Also, fears of fish shortage surfaced amid reports that as much as 240,000 kilos, or more than 260 tons, are illegally taken daily by Chinese fishing vessels that had massed up in the Julian Felipe Reef since March, thereby depleting the fish catch of Filipino fisherfolks. This will worsen, especially with the latest defeatist statement of the president,” he added.
