Ally to Duterte: Invoke arbitration ruling to stop China agression in South China Sea

An ally in the Senate of President Rodrigo Duterte said the Chief Executive must not allow the Philippines to be “bullied” by anyone amid China’s plan to build an environmental monitoring station in Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal.

In a statement, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said the Duterte administration must invoke the arbitration ruling on the South China Sea dispute to protest China’s plan.

"The favorable decision in the Philippines versus China case is a potent tool we can use to enforce our sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea,” said Gatchalian, a member of the administration coalition in th Senate.

“It is our duty to invoke this ruling and take action before international legal institutions to contest any further acts of Chinese aggression in the West Philippine Sea," he added.

Gatchalian said the President was “incorrect” in saying that the Philippines cannot do anything to stop China.

The senator said the government can pursue legal and diplomatic options to defend Philippine territory from foreign aggression.

“The Philippines should never allow itself to be bullied by anyone, no matter how big and powerful that bully might be,” Gatchalian said.

Gatchalian said the Panatag Shoal, which sits less than 200 kilometers off the coast of Zambales, is a militarily significant position that must be protected at all costs.

On Monday, Duterte said China’s plan to construct on Panatag Shoal could disturb freedom of navigation in the region as he urged the ASEAN and the Chinese government to come up with a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea.

Duterte said he would have to raise the arbitral ruling with China during his term.

“Now, kung ang China magkuha na sila ng mga oil, mga uranium or whatever is inside the bowels of the sea, kalabitin ko siya, ‘Ako man rin ang may-ari niyan.’ You claim it by historical right, by judgment I won and it’s mine, but I will not insist on sovereignty or anything like that. It is not within our territorial waters,” he said.

A decision issued by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in July last year ruled ruled in favor of the Philippines, as it invalidated the so-called nine-dash line, China’s basis for claiming almost the entire South China Sea. Beijing however has repeatedly refused to recognize the said decision. —NB, GMA News