Ang Kalatas May 2017 Issue | Page 3

THE MESSAGE. BRINGING INTO FOCUS FILIPINO PRESENCE IN AUSTRALIA www.kalatas.com.au | Volume 7 Number 8 | MAY 2017 NEWS 3 PHILIPPINES: IN THE NEWS... Border dispute escalates The Philippines border dispute with China seems to escalate by the day. Filipino fishermen at the West Philippi ne Sea claimed the Chinese had fired shots at them. The Department of Foreign Affairs had asked China “to refrain from the threat or use of force” in driving away the Filipino fishermen from the West Philippine Sea and other disputed water territories. As usual, China denied the allegations. “We have raised the matter with the Chinese side several times and they informed us that their investigations did not reveal any such incidents,” Bolivar was quoted as saying in a Manila Times report. “We have asked them to continue the investigations and to share the results with Philippine authorities. Meanwhile, we continue to urge the Chinese side to refrain from the threat or use of force,” he added. Fishermen from Batangas, Bataan, and Pangasinan claimed that Chinese navy vessels fired warning shots at them in March. The Chinese navy personnel were in the vicinity of Union Banks, well within the Philippines’ 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone. Last year, Filipino fishermen resumed fishing at Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal after the visit of President Rodrigo Duterte in Beijing. China’s reclamation activities at installations on islands in the West Philippine Sea have sparked concern in the region, as these are in defiance of a July 2016 international arbitration ruling that upheld the Philippines’ maritime claims. ‘Pag-asa Island is ours’ A stronger statement had been issued by the Philippine foreign affairs department recently with regard to the territorial disputes with China. Foreign affairs spokesperson Robespierre Bolivar said the “Pag-asa Island and the larger Kalayaan Island Group are a municipality of Palawan.” Bolivar further said, “Any visit of activity we undertake there are part and parcel of our Constitutional mandate to ensure the safety, well-being, and livelihood of our citizens living in this municipality.” Residents in the area are mostly Filipinos, the DFA spokesman said. The DFA statement was in response to a claim made by Chinese ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jianhua said that the occupation of and any activity on the islands by Filipinos is illegal. A Philippine Air Force plane with Philippine defense secretary Delfin Lorenzana and other military officials was reportedly harassed by the Chinese military as the plane headed for Pag-asa Island. The Chinese ambassador said the Philippine plane received a warning as it was about to “intrude” in their territory. President Rodrigo Duterte had earlier directed the defense secretary to “repair and upgrade” structures on Pag- asa Island. The president also ordered the military to occupy the Philippine- inhabited islands and reefs on the West Philippine Sea to assert the country’s sovereignty in the area. ASEAN quiet on confl ict The Philippines may have to stand on its own over the territorial dispute against China. While a summit was held by leaders of the Association of South East Asian Nations recently, the regional body was mum on the border issue. Not one of the ASEAN leaders “strongly pushed” for the inclusion of the issue of China’s massive reclamation and militarization activities in the South China according to Foreign Affairs executive director Zaldy Patron said yesterday. He said Asean leaders instead acknowledged “the improving relations between Asean member states or Asean and China.” But Patron’s statements contradicted earlier reports that some Asean leaders wanted to include “land reclamation and militarization” activities in the final Asean Chairman’s Statement that was issued at the conclusion of the Asean summit. China apparently welcomed a softer stand taken by Asean on the disputed South China Sea at the recently- concluded 30th Asean Summit held in Manila. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana