Navy pullout from Scarborough meant to ease tension
Stressing that he did not intend to go to war against China,
President Benigno Aquino III said on Monday he was attempting to ease
tensions at Scarborough Shoal by deploying a Coast Guard cutter in the
area to match Beijing’s civilian vessel there and continuing talks with
Chinese diplomats.
“It would be difficult if we are not talking anymore,’’ the President
said. “It’s better to jaw-jaw than to war-war,’’ Mr. Aquino told
reporters, quoting the late British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
In a hastily called news conference in Malacañang to respond to
widespread criticism of his handling of the power crisis in Mindanao,
the President explained for the first time the actions taken by his
government on the week-old standoff at the shoal whose resolution, he
said, was a “work in progress.’’
Mr. Aquino said the government had no intention to escalate tensions
at the shoal when it sent its Navy warship, the BRP Gregorio del Pilar,
there last week.
Using a PowerPoint presentation, the President explained that the
Navy flagship was en route to the eastern coastline of northern Luzon to
stand vigil there in case debris from the April 13 launch of a North
Korean missile fell there.
“On its way there, it was informed by a Navy aircraft that it spotted
fishing vessels and [since] part of its duty is to enforce our maritime
laws, it inspected [the vessels] and found these endangered species,’’
he said, referring to poached marine life aboard what turned out to be
Chinese craft.
He said the Navy frigate left the area immediately upon the arrival
of a Philippine Coast Guard search and rescue vessel, which he described
as a “civilian component’’ under the Department of Transportation and
Communications and which was dispatched “just to demonstrate that we
want to de-escalate the situation.’’
On Monday, he said PCG vessel 003 was replaced by PCG vessel 002 so
that it could refuel and take on provisions like water. “We don’t have
replenishment at sea capabilities,” he said.
“So 002 will maintain station to assert our sovereignty over
Scarborough Shoal, which is about 160 nautical miles (296 km) from our
coastline and which is well within our exclusive economic zone,’’ the
Chief Executive said.
Trying to de-escalate
When a reporter pointed out to him that authorities were unable to
arrest the Chinese poachers and confiscate the items they got, the
President shot back: “Will it be better for us to deploy all our
maritime vessels there, prevent Chinese maritime surveillance vessels
that are unarmed and force China to react by sending their own military
vessels?’’
“Would escalation serve the national interest?’’ he asked, adding
that the two sides had not stopped exploring all avenues to resolve the
impasse. “We have two missions: One, not to escalate the situation and
two, to protect our sovereignty,’’ he said.
The President also dismissed speculation about the timing of the
annual Philippine-US Balikatan exercises, which started Monday, amid the
standoff at Scarborough Shoal, a cluster of reefs and islets
surrounding a lagoon that is being claimed by China. The area is
separate from the Spratlys, which are being disputed by the Philippines
and China, along with Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei.
“It will not serve us any good that at a time that we are trying to
de-escalate the situation, we will put in place something that will
potentially be a subject of complaint of the other side,’’ he said.
While he said his government was prepared to protect the country’s
sovereignty “to the limits of our capabilities,” he stressed that the
Philippines did not have the resources to fight the Chinese, “even in
boxing, they are 1.3 billion, we are 95 million.”
No breakthrough
The President noted a provision in the Constitution that “we renounce
war as [an] instrument of national policy and I am bound to follow
that.’’
That’s why he said it was important for the two nations to continue
with their dialogue, now being conducted between Foreign Undersecretary
Erlinda Basilio and Chinese Ambassador Ma Keqing, because Foreign
Secretary Albert del Rosario was now in the US on a previous engagement.
“I’m hopeful that reasonable people … can come up with a situation that will resolve the situation,’’ Mr. Aquino said.
Basilio and Ma held discussions for 45 minutes Monday afternoon. The
Chinese ambassador declined comment on the outcome of the talks but her
political counselor Bai Tien, told reporters, “No breakthrough.”
Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Raul Hernandez said “the discussions ended in a stalemate.”
Hernandez also announced that the Philippines on Monday lodged a
diplomatic protest over “acts of harassment” by Chinese ships and
aircraft of the MY Saranggani, a Manila-based vessel doing archeological
research in the shoal area last week.
In a news conference earlier, Hernandez shrugged off suggestions by
Senator Joker Arroyo that the Philippines had become an “orphan” that
could not depend on the United States or its partners in the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations to protect its territory against Chinese
intrusions.
“Our regional and international partners, including the United
States, our treaty ally, are assisting us upgrade our capabilities and
build a minimum credible defense posture,” Hernandez said.
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