DFA tells China: Pag-asa, Sandy Cay are part of PH

By Joyce Ann L. Rocamora, Philippine News Agency

FILE: Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Ma. Teresita Daza urged China to respect the country’s sovereignty and jurisdiction, saying Pag-asa Island and the surrounding cays are part of the Philippines. (PCO Photo)

MANILA – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Thursday rebuked and rejected anew China’s claims over the Spratlys, including the Sandy Cay or Pag-asa Cay 2 in the nearby Pag-asa Island.

The statement comes after the Chinese Embassy in Manila on May 26 justified the recent water cannoning of two Filipino civilian vessels near the Sandy Cay, saying the feature “has always been China’s territory.”

Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Ma. Teresita Daza urged China to respect the country’s sovereignty and jurisdiction, saying Pag-asa Island and the surrounding cays are part of the Philippines.

“The fundamental fact is that Pag-asa Island and the Pag-asa Cays form part of the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG), which is an integral part of the Philippines over which it has longstanding sovereignty and jurisdiction,” she said.

“The Philippines is clearly within its rights to conduct routine maritime operations and scientific research in and around these features, and will continue to do so.”

The actions of Philippine authorities in the area, she added, are a valid exercise of Manila’s sovereignty and consistent with international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Award, as well as the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC).

“China has no right to object, much less interfere with these lawful and routine activities,” she said.

Amid these developments, Daza said the Philippines remains committed to seeking peaceful and legal means to manage differences and the situation at sea.

On May 21, two Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) vessels — BRP Datu Sanday and BRP Datu Pagbuaya— were conducting a routine marine scientific research mission near Sandy Cay when they were shadowed, blocked, hit by water cannons, and sideswiped by CCG vessel 21559.

The National Maritime Council described these as “unlawful interference” by China as it occurred within the territorial sea of the Philippines in the area of Pag-asa Island and Pag-asa Cay 2.