DND: PH, int'l community should pressure China into behaving responsibly

The Philippines and the international community should pressure China into behaving responsibly amid continued tensions in the West Philippine Sea, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said Friday.

Teodoro said China has been using "swarming tactics" within the country's exclusive economic zone (EEZ). He said that the Philippines should "move them (Chinese ships) out," but that this is easier said than done.

"We can have several approaches to this. The first and foremost is to really show the world and to pressure China into behaving as a responsible citizen of the world in this area," Teodoro said in an interview on ANC.

"It is a question for the whole world to [be] worried about, because if the South China Sea is constricted by China, then your supply chains are affected, international maritime order is affected, and for us in the Philippines, if we are not able to secure our EEZ, our existences as an archipelagic country under UNCLOS is in peril," he said.

Teodoro issued the remark when asked about the presence of Chinese vessels near Ayungin Shoal.

The defense chief said the country should also continue its momentum of "proactive diplomacy" and engagements with other like-minded countries in the region and outside the region.

He said the government should also educate the public that the requests for bilateral negotiations without a framework or accepted ground rules with China is a "weapon" by the other country "merely to delay us while it continues to swarm and effectively deny us our ability to dominate the area."

When asked if China could take over Ayungin Shoal, Teodoro said it was "theoretically possible."

"Theoretically, that is possible. … We have plans in place, of course, for any contingencies, no? But, however, I do not want to go into the realm of speculation regarding that," he said.

Teodoro said he believed that China was trying to change the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and international law.

"Meaning to say, it's converting the South China Sea into a lake of China, no? And that is why it is using Coast Guard vessels which are huge and massive, equivalent to naval vessels, too, to enforce domestic and criminal Chinese law in the whole of the South China Sea," Teodoro said.

"This is part of their illegal narratives and this is part of their move to unilaterally pound into submission other countries to acquiesce into their definition of what international law with respect to the law of the sea is," he added.

China previously said that moves by its Coast Guard against Philippine vessels in the West Philippine Sea were "professional" and "restrained," adding it had "lodged stern representations" with Manila.

When sought for comment, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said, “In light of the Philippines’ repeated provocations and infringement at Ren’ai Jiao and its waters, China has been committed to enhancing communication with the Philippines with sincerity and goodwill to properly handle the situation."

“We have also put forward proposals on managing and controlling the situation at Ren’ai Jiao. The ball is now with the Philippine side. We hope the Philippines will face up to the root cause of the issue, stop making provocations and creating trouble, and safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea,” she added.— VDV, GMA Integrated News