Pintor, Eljane H.

BSA

Position Paper on the West Philippine Sea Claims

I. Introduction

The issue with the West Philippine Sea has long been making noise in the international
setting. Due to the richness and diversity of the resources in the disputed area, many countries
have been claiming it. Two of the prominent claimants are Philippines and China. These two
countries have considerable economic relations and have been engaging in many bi-lateral
partnerships and alliances. During the incumbency of former President Noynoy Aquino, the
International Criminal Court made a ruling in favor of the Philippines as the rightful claimant of
this property. While political interests vary from president to president, Pres. Rodrigo Duterte
has his own strategies in managing foreign relations. This present administration had been
tolerating reclamation activities and presence of Chinese marine vessels in the area. If the
ruling has been made in favor of the Philippines, the central issue is that why the current
administration is allowing occurrence of such act that is prejudicial to the interest of the
country. Hence, the issue is whether or not these activities pose a security threat to the
Philippines.

II. Body

a. Background Information

At the start of the present administration, the President has been favoring a very healthy
relationship with the Chinese government. Many alarming issues have been coming which
involved abuse of confidence, power and trust by China. Despite these untoward activities
against the Philippine government, the Chief Executive, Pres. Duterte is always keeping his
cool and disregarding these negative signal being brought by the Chinese government.

Focusing at the central issue, there reclamation activities that were done by Chinese
military over different arees and shoals in the West Philippine Sea. The government through its
arm, Department of National Defense and Department of Foreign Affairs have known about this
issue and there has not been any defensive tactics that were done to curtail such oppresive
activities. This leads to speculations from different people that the government is a dog of the
Chinese government. These speculations even come from various legislators who have been
very vocal in the incompetence of the government.
 b. Supporting Evidence

In Philippine law, the West Philippine Sea refers to only portions of the South China Sea
particularly parts of the sea which the Philippine government claims to be part of the country's
exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The naming of the area became official through Administrative
Order No. 29 issued by then-President Benigno Aquino III on September 5, 2012. The order
also cites Presidential Decree No. 1599 which was issued in 1978 during the tenure of then
President Ferdinand Marcos which established the Philippine EEZ as well as the Republic Act
No. 9522 or the Baselines Law which was enacted into law in 2009 during the administration of
then-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo which delineated the baselines of the Philippine
archipelago (Ubac, 2012).

Supporting the claim, if Philippine soil was indeed used to build China’s artificial
islands, it could not have been done without help from local entities, says Senator Risa
Hontiveros. She added that it’s been recently revealed that Chinese companies that participate
in the building of military islands in the West Philippine Sea have projects with the Philippine
government, so it is not hard to suspect dubious engagement by either party. Noting
allegations that soil, sand, and other materials taken from the Philippines were used by China
to reclaim reefs in the West Philippine Sea, Hontiveros said it would have been impossible
without collusion with entities within the Philippines (Gotinga, 2020).

Moreover, garassment of Filipino fishers by Chinese vessels have significantly reduced

the local catch, gravely threatening the survival of many poor Filipinos in coastal communities.
China has reclaimed and militarized 7 reefs among the Spratly Islands off Palawan, in an area
the Philippines claims as sovereign territory. Chinese vessels also maintain a constant
presence in and around Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal off Zambales, which lies within the
Philippines’ 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone. An international arbitral tribunal
declared it an international fishing commons, which means China cannot lay a claim of
ownership over it (Rappler.com, 2020).

c. Discussion of Arguments

Banking between the two sides of the issue, many concerned groups are voicing out
their advocacy that our government cannot just tolerate these activities as they were
oppressive of the right of sovereignty by the Philippines. There is noise and contention of
having traitor or inside job for allowing the reclamation activities. Sen. Hontiveros said “Who
are these traitors? This should be investigated immediately, and anyone found to have colluded
with foreign powers to militarize the West Philippine Sea should be penalized.”
 On the other hand, Pres. Duterte has not been making actions to stop the activities. He
has not been neutral as well, he even refused to stop projects of China firms linked to island-
building. Palace confirmed that Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte won't be copying the
United States' move to blacklist or sanction Chinese companies engaged in illegal island-
building in the South China Sea. "The President declared last night that the Americans can
blacklist Chinese companies in their territories in America and maybe in their military bases
under their jurisdiction. But what the President said was clear: He will not follow the directives
of Americans because we are a free and independent nation and we need those investments
from China," said Roque in a mix of English and Filipino.

III. Conclusion

Apparently, the activities of the Chinese government in the West Philippine Sea pose a
security threat to the Philippines. Slowly, the Philippine government is being succumbed by the
oppressive powers and attacks of China. Should the government keep its complacence and
just let the other party do this against their right, no wonder if the Philippine government loses
its dignity, sovereignty and confidence. The issue in this arbitration is not concerning an island
or a city, it is a matter of whole region of the West Philippine Sea where many Filipino citizens,
businessmen and fishermen relies for life and living. This is really a threat to the Philippine
independence and security because China is slowly terrorizing the country and the government
is just letting them.