Diplomatic pressure should be pursued during Marcos visit to China —Tolentino

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. should pursue diplomatic pressure during his upcoming state visit to China amid reports of Chinese vessels swarming the West Philippine Sea (WPS), Senator Francis Tolentino said Tuesday.

Tolentino issued the remark in a television interview when asked what should the government do to ward off the around 20 Chinese vessels that were reportedly spotted in Sabina Shoal near Palawan.

"One, the diplomatic pressure should be pursued in Beijing when the President [visits the country]. We don't want to jump the gun on the President, he is the chief architect of foreign policy," Tolentino, vice-chairperson of the Senate foreign relations committee, said in an ANC interview.

Apart from this, the senator said the government must increase the presence of Philippine Coast Guard, and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) must also be involved to establish research programs in the area.

Tolentino last week delivered a privilege speech and showed footage of an incident near Pag-asa Island in November in which the Chinese Coast Guard could be seen taking suspected rocket debris retrieved by  Philippine Navy personnel.

His privilege speech prompted other lawmakers to manifest their anger over the supposed bullying in the West Philippine Sea.

The Senate eventually adopted an unnumbered resolution expressing the chamber's "disgust" at the repeated incidents in the West Philippine Sea involving Chinese authorities.

Kalayaan islands

During the TV interview, Tolentino said the government must bring more livelihood programs and infrastructures in Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) to show other states that it is part of the Philippines.

"You can beef up our resources within Kalayaan Islands. More classrooms, more livelihood programs in the area... More involvement from the Department of Agriculture [and] BFAR should be done and I'm looking at building more lighthouses [in the area]...because it would really show that it is ours," Tolentino said.

He pointed out that the KIG is also a local government unit that has to be supported because there are Filipinos living there.

The area could also serve as a hub for fisherfolk where they can seek shelter, he said.

Tolentino even suggested converting the area into a municipality.

Apart from infrastructures and other livelihood programs, Tolentino reiterated his suggestion to put up a radio transmitter that will broadcast weather news and play Filipino songs — a cultural approach to state that the area is ours.

"Imagine if you can have 24-hour music featuring Filipino, Visayan songs," he said.

Energy exploration

The lawmaker also mentioned the need to encourage more energy exploration in the area that may involve other claimants such as Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, and Taiwan.

Talks on joint exploration in the WPS were done during the Duterte administration but Philippine and Chinese negotiators failed to resolve the issue of which country has sovereignty over the Recto Bank, internationally known as Reed Bank, where a joint exploration and development has been proposed.

Neither side wanted to relinquish sovereignty rights over the contested area, hampering years of negotiations between Duterte's administration and the Chinese government, diplomatic sources have said.

Recto Bank, which is within the country's exclusive economic zone as declared by an international tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, is vital to Philippine national interest as it is the only replacement for Malampaya, which supplies 40% of the energy requirement of Luzon.

Asked if the Marcos administration should initiate the exploration in the area regardless of China's opinion, Tolentino said the public must await the outcome of the President's state visit in early January 2023.

"Again, let's wait for the outcome of the President's forthcoming trip to Beijing this coming January 3. This might be discussed. We don't want to jump the gun as I've said on what top level diplomats and the chief architect of our foreign policy would be pursuing," he said.

"But I really believe that the utilization of natural resources and I'm referring to oil and gas within our exclusive economic zone in the West Philippine Sea if and it will happen Malampaya runs out, runs dry should be done whether it is done in partnership with a claimant, a non-claimant or jointly even with who knows, China might give way. So this has to be done to benefit our countrymen," Tolentino added.  —KBK, GMA Integrated News