Albert del Rosario
Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary
23June2011
A brief information before I get started… There is such a thing called the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). it is an international agreement that defines the rights and responsibilities of nations in their use of the world's oceans, establishing guidelines for businesses, the environment, and the management of marine natural resources. This includes the so called Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs). These extend from the edge of the territorial sea out to 200 nautical miles from the baseline. Within this area, the coastal nation has sole exploitation rights over all natural resources.
Where do I begin to explain the history of this conflict? I don’t think I want to go on the details of the claims of each country involved, that’s too long and im not in the mood for a history lesson right now. actually, im not going to be Miss know-it-all here and pretend to know the "hows" and "whys" and "wheres" of each claimant country, because i dont know all their issues. Besides, as far as the Philippines is concerned, this latest controversy has nothing to do with THE SPRATLY(Kalayaan Islands)issue! *that last sentence will be explained in the next paragraph* I am writing about this because one of the two parties involved in this hostilities is none other than the Philippines and the other party is …oh just a country called, People’s Republic of China. Yes Juan de la Cruz, it’s the Philippines versus China! They claim that the whole of The South China Sea has been theirs as per historical records. HUWATTT??? THEY OWN THAT ENTIRE BODY OF WATER AND EVERYTHING ON IT??? Hehe…that’s a first! In that case, since the entire eastern Philippines is bordered by the Pacific Ocean and no country has claimed ownership of that body of water yet, instead of claiming the 200 nautical mile Philippine Sea, why don’t we just claim the entire Pacific Ocean as ours and change its name to Philippine Ocean? ^^ kidding aside, even Vietnamese maps I believe refer to this body of water as East Sea. Its actually the early European explorers that gave the name South China Sea to differentiate it from other bodies of water in that area.
What started this latest irritant is the harassment made by some Chinese patrol vessels over at Reed Bank where a seismic and geological survey is underway in preparation for gas and oil exploration in the area. They threatened to ram a Philippine sanctioned vessel. They claim that Reed Bank is Chinese territory because it is part of Spratly Islands which they claim in whole. Reed Bank is just 80 nautical miles off Palawan so it is clearly within OUR 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone(EEZ). Now, if there is such a thing as UNCLOS and EEZs, Philippine ownership of Reed Bank shouldn’t even be an issue right? If only people adhere to the rule of law or international law we wouldn’t be having this military skirmishes between nations right? Well, in Utopia maybe, where everybody lives in harmony, BUT, in the real world there are rogue states and there are plain honest-to-goodness bullies who loves to throw their weight around to the detriment of lightweights such as us *sob, sob* Incidentally, the permit/contract for gas exploration was granted to a British company only recently because under Gloria Arroyo’s term, she included Reed Bank in a Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU) with China in 2004. Gloria, yes, our notorious former president, practically gave China the excuse to lay claim to an area that up until then was never a disputed area. Clearly, Gloria sold us to the Chinese in exchange for a few billion dollars worth of loans that very likely ended up in her pocket anyway AND just as clear is that, this belated claim by the Chinese stem from their interest in Reed Bank’s perceived gas and oil reserves. Hello, just because they are an emerging superpower it does not follow that we have to toe the line when you say so and agree to evrything that you say. Hello again, this is the Philippines and we are the oldest democracy in this part of the world! We may not have a perfect democracy but by god I will take it anytime over what they have there! Who’s with me, Am I right or what?
Since its common knowledge here and in the international community that we have a non-existent navy, oh ok were being too harsh on ourselves, let me rephrase that… a practically non-existent navy, ^^ so for David(the Philippines), engaging Goliath(China) militarily is out of the question. BUT BUT BUT BUT BUT, initially, we can utilize what this nation has in abundance… our gift of gab, also otherwise known as, a big and loud mouth that can articulate in the universal language so the whole civilized world can understand. So to Juan, Pedro and Kulas out there who ALWAYS has an opinion and a solution on just about anything, instead of harping at each other, why not focus your attention on external aggressors for once. Im happy to note… that is just what we did ^^ We raised a holler and called attention to what is happening here and we played the "underdog" card to the hilt... in the process exposed the giant and its expansionist tendencies/ambitions. And as if to further display our wit, because we have no military arsenal to display, in its official statements, the Philippine government now calls Reed Bank --->Recto Bank and The South China Sea as West Philippine Sea. WHY NOT chocnut!!! After the initial exchanges of loud accusations and diplomatic protests, everybody is now in agreement that its time to tone down the rhetorics because in all honesty we cannot afford to go into war, period, and, China for its part do not need to further tarnish its image in the world stage, hence, its toned down pronouncements lately. Now is the time to call in the experts of international diplomacy to calm ruffled feathers and pacify hurt pride.
There may be nothing but posturing in the West Philippine Sea for now but those are pretty dangerous waters out there and you better believe it. In response to China’s announcement that its largest maritime patrol ship will be dispatched in the area enroute to Singapore, the Philippine navy is sending its biggest warship for patrol operations in the same area. I just hope nobody aboard those ships decide to play with firecrackers, otherwise, Pnoy would have no choice but to call Uncle Sam and beg for help, again. what a sad thought :(
