{"id":227002,"date":"2019-08-15T22:37:37","date_gmt":"2019-08-16T02:37:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=227002"},"modified":"2019-08-15T22:37:37","modified_gmt":"2019-08-16T02:37:37","slug":"palace-concerned-over-chinese-warship-in-sibutu-strait","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2019\/08\/15\/palace-concerned-over-chinese-warship-in-sibutu-strait\/","title":{"rendered":"Palace concerned over Chinese warship in Sibutu Strait"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
\u201cWe express concern with that kind of incident. Because if they keep on saying that we\u2019re friends, I don\u2019t think this is an act of friendship,\u201d Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a Palace briefing. (File Photo<\/a>: Office of the Presidential Spokesperson\/Facebook<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MANILA<\/strong>\u00a0— Malaca\u00f1ang expressed concern on Thursday over a Chinese warship\u2019s unauthorized passage through Sibutu Strait in the waters of Tawi-Tawi despite China\u2019s assurance to maintain friendly ties with the Philippines.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe express concern with that kind of incident. Because if they keep on saying that we\u2019re friends, I don\u2019t think this is an act of friendship,\u201d Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a Palace briefing.<\/p>\n

The passage of a Chinese warship in Philippine waters came following Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jinhua\u2019s earlier commitment that the Chinese government would seek the permission of the Philippine government first.<\/p>\n

Panelo said if proven that there is a violation in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the government will file another diplomatic protest.<\/p>\n

\u201cBaka<\/em>\u00a0(Perhaps) it\u2019s a violation of the UNCLOS. Violation ng UNCLOS\u00a0\u2018yan eh kung dumaraan sa ating<\/em>\u00a0EEZ (Passing through our EEZ is a violation of UNCLOS). I\u2019m sure the DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) Secretary (Teodoro Locsin Jr.) will do something about that,\u201d Panelo said.<\/p>\n

He echoed the position of Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenza who asked China to explain the presence of warships in Philippine waters.<\/p>\n

\u201cGaya ng posisyon ng ating<\/em>\u00a0(Just like the position of the) Secretary of National Defense, we don\u2019t like that. And \u2018pag na<\/em>-verify\u00a0mo na naman \u2018yun \u2018di<\/em>\u00a0(and it has to be verified so) another subject of diplomatic protest by the DFA,\u201d Panelo said.<\/p>\n

He also agreed with Lorenzana that China\u2019s consistent driving away Filipino fishermen within the Philippine exclusive economic zone (EEZ) could be considered an act of \u201cbullying.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked if President Rodrigo Duterte would bring up the presence of Chinese warships in Philippine waters during his upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Panelo said it will be the chief executive\u2019s call.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut any issue will always be open between the two heads of state.\u00a0Depende sa kanila kung anong pag-uusapan nila<\/em>\u00a0(It depends on what they will talk about),\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Panelo, meanwhile, said he will call the attention of the Chinese government over its warships’ passage in Philippine waters when he meets Zhao for a working dinner.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will call their attention. We will call their attention. The Chinese Ambassador has invited me for dinner in one of these days. Maybe I will raise that to him,\u201d Panelo said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will ask him\u00a0kung ano na nangyari doon\u00a0<\/em>(what happened there) I remember Secretary Delfin was quoting him,\u00a0\u2018di ba na<\/em>\u00a0\u2018that\u2019s wrong, we\u2019re friends,\u2019\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Following Zhao\u2019s recent statement that China\u2019s position not recognizing the arbitral ruling remains unchanged, Panelo said he told Zhao via text message that the Philippine stand also remains.<\/p>\n

Panelo, however, is hopeful that bilateral negotiations would still help resolve the sea dispute between the Philippines and China.<\/p>\n

\u201cNeither are we changing our position too. But it doesn\u2019t mean that as friends, we cannot discuss that issue. It has to be discussed, that is precisely why there is a mechanism for negotiation,\u201d Panelo said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are things we can agree upon, there are differences that we may not. But that does not preclude both countries to raise that issue and discuss amicably,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Quoting the President, Panelo said nobody could stop the chief executive from saying what he wants to say.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe will not alter his position on the matter in the same way that the Chinese government as it says will not (recognize the arbitral ruling),\u201d Panelo said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is important is, as he promised the Filipino people, he will raise that issue (arbitral ruling) at the proper time and he said, \u2018This is the time,\u2019\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

On July 12, 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) released its verdict on the Philippines\u2019 arbitration case filed against China in 2013 nullifying China\u2019s nine-dash line claims of nearly the entire West Philippine Sea or South China Sea including part of the Philippines\u2019 EEZ.<\/p>\n

The PCA concluded that there was \u201cno legal basis\u201d for China to claim historic rights to resources within the sea areas falling within the \u2018nine-dash line\u201d but China refused to recognize this<\/p>\n

Code of conduct<\/strong><\/p>\n

President Duterte is expected to bring up the completion of the Code of Conduct (COC) on the South China Sea when he meets Xi in Beijing this month to invoke the PCA ruling won by the Philippines against China.<\/p>\n

Once the 10-member bloc and China conclude COC negotiations and arrive at a consensus on its content, the document will serve as a binding guideline for parties in the contested waters.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why the President\u2014that\u2019s what he told me\u00a0pala<\/em>\u00a0last night. The reason among others\u00a0na<\/em>\u00a0(that) he wants to go to China is because he wants to hasten the enactment of the Code of Conduct because it triggers incidence,\u201d Panelo said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is not or that is harmful,\u00a0kaya gusto niyang makausap si<\/em>\u00a0(that\u2019s why he wants to speak to) President Xi on that. Coordinator\u00a0kasi si Presidente sa<\/em>\u00a0Asia region (The President is the coordinator of the Asia region),\u201d he added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MANILA\u00a0— Malaca\u00f1ang expressed concern on Thursday over a Chinese warship\u2019s unauthorized passage through Sibutu Strait in the waters of Tawi-Tawi …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":186250,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1145,16,95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-227002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headline","category-news","category-news-ph","mauthors-azer-parrocha","mauthors-philippine-news-agency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227002","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=227002"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227002\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":227004,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227002\/revisions\/227004"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/186250"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=227002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=227002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=227002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}