PH not stirring up trouble in Scarborough Shoal —Teodoro

Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. on Wednesday denied that the Philippines is stirring up trouble in Scarborough Shoal as accused by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Wenbin.

"Di naman tayo nagi-stir ng trouble. 'Di naman tayo ang kumukubkob. 'Yan 'yung 'di nila maintindihan," Teodoro told Senate reporters in an interview.

(We are not the ones stirring up trouble since we were not the ones who occupied the area. That's what they don't understand.)

Wang has warned the Philippines "not to make provocations or seek trouble" after the Philippine Coast Guard removed a floating barrier placed by China Coast Guard (CCG) to prevent Filipino fishermen from entering Scarborough Shoal, known locally as Bajo de Masinloc.

During the deliberation of the Senate Committee on Finance on the proposed P229.9 billion budget of the Department of National Defense (DND), Teodoro stressed that the Philippines was just merely reacting to what China has been doing. 

"Hindi po tayo nagpo-provoke sa kanila. Ang ginagawa lang po natin na matagal na po, kaya nga po gusto nating baguhin ang plano ng pag-iisip natin, nagre-react lang po tayo sa ginagawa po nila,” he said.

(We are not provoking them. We are just doing what we have been doing for a long time, that's why we want to change our thinking, we are just reacting to what China is doing.)

“Sila po ang nangunguna. Sila po ang humaharang ng ating mangingisda. Sila po ang naglagay ng barrier doon sa Scarborough… sila ang nagpo-provoke, hindi naman tayo,” he added.

(The provocation came from them. They are blocking our fishermen. They were the ones who put up the barrier there in Scarborough... They are the ones provoking us, not the other way around.)

Despite this, Teodoro said he asked the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) not to allow themselves to get provoked.

He also said that the Philippines is open for diplomatic dialogues with China, but it should be in accordance with the principled conversation that is "open and transparent."

Teodoro maintained that Scarborough Shoal is a traditional fishing ground where Filipino fishermen can benefit from its rich marine resources.

"If it triggers something from China, it is just proving that it really has total disregard for maritime safety," he said.

The Philippines had condemned the installation of the 300-meter-long barrier at the mouth of Scarborough Shoal's lagoon. The PCG said the removal of the "hazardous"  barrier was upon the instructions of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and National Security Adviser Eduardo Año, who heads the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea.

The shoal, a U-shaped rocky outcrop teeming with marine resources, was seized by China from Manila in 2012 following a two-month standoff, triggering an arbitration complaint by Manila 10 years ago.

Wang earlier said the CCG installed the floating barrier to prevent a Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) vessel from trespassing into the shoal.

"China' s coast guard took the necessary measures to stop and warn off the ship in accordance with the law, which was professional and with restraint," the Chinese official said.

China refers to Bajo de Masinloc as Huangyan Island.

Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo said the removal of the floating barrier was consistent with the Philippines' position on the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

An arbitral tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, which invalidated China's sweeping claims over the South China Sea, ruled that no country can claim sovereign rights over the shoal, saying it is a traditional fishing ground for Filipino, Vietnamese and Chinese fishermen.

It also ruled that Beijing violated the rights of Filipinos, who were blocked by Chinese Coast Guard from fishing in Scarborough Shoal.

The shoal is 472 nautical miles from China’s nearest coastal province of Hainan and lies 124 nautical miles off the nearest Philippine landmass of Palawan. —KBK, GMA Integrated News