PH should urge other countries to cut ties with China Coast Guard —maritime law expert

The Philippines should call on the international community to cut relations with China Coast Guard (CCG) after the violent incident in Ayungin Shoal, a maritime law expert said on Tuesday.

In a Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon interview, Jay Batongbacal, an associate professor at the University of the Philippines College of Law and director of the university's Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea, said the action will sanction, censure, or ostracize the CCG that may pressure it to stops its illegal activities in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

“Dapat siguro, at the minimum, ikampanya natin sa mundo na huwag na silang makipagtungo dito sa CCG na parang nagpapapanggap lang siya na maritime safety agency. Dahil doon, meron siyang mga contacts and cooperation arrangements sa ibang bansa,” he said.

(Perhaps, at the minimum, we should campaign to the world that they should not interact with CCG as it is just pretending to be a maritime safety agency. As a result of this, the CCG has contacts and cooperation arrangements with other countries.)

“Pero malinaw na hindi siya ganun. Ginagamit lang siya para gamitan ng dahas ang ibang bansa na contrary talaga sa nature at purpose ng isang coast guard,” he added.

(But clearly the CCG is not like that. It is only being used to inflict violence against other countries, which is really contrary to the nature and purpose of a coast guard.)

Batongbacal suggested the Philippines should continue its cooperation with allied countries and create new pressure to stop China’s aggressive actions in the WPS.

Aside from this, Batongbacal said the Philippines should demand a replacement for the Chinese envoy and force China to pay compensation for the damage it caused in the latest incident in Ayungin Shoal.

A Philippine Navy sailor lost his thumb and several others were injured after CCG personnel repeatedly rammed the Philippine military’s rubber boats to prevent them from delivering food supplies, firearms, and other necessities to the BRP Sierra Madre on June 17.

The CCG personnel were also seen brandishing knives, an axe, and pointed sticks.

Based on the videos and photos released by the Philippine military, the hulls of the Navy’s boats were deliberately punctured and the screen of a navigation system was smashed by CCG members.

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. on Monday described the incident as "an aggressive and illegal use of force by the Chinese forces."

Despite the repeated provocations by China, Teodoro said the Philippine government would continue to look for peaceful solutions.\

President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. had said the country will not use force or intimidation or deliberately inflict injury or harm to anyone amid tensions in the WPS.

Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion in annual ship commerce. Its territorial claims overlap with those of the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei.

Manila refers to parts of the waters within its exclusive economic zone as the West Philippine Sea.

In 2016, an international arbitration tribunal in the Hague ruled that China's claims over the South China Sea had no legal basis, a decision Beijing does not recognize.

For Batongbacal, in case the Chinese attempt to board the BRP Sierra Madre, Filipino troops are justified to resort to violence for self-defense.

“Kahit po walang sandata, kasi ang BRP Sierra Madre ang tawag po diyan ay isang sovereign vessel, hindi po siya na-decommission kaya in active service po siya, para po ‘yang isang active service na vessel na merong karapatan na gumamit ng self-defense kung merong mga hostile na tao na sasampa sa kanya at pipilitan siyang kunin,” he said.

(Even if there are no weapons, the BRP Sierra Madre is considered a sovereign vessel, it has not been decommissioned so it is in active service. It is like an active service vessel that has the right to use self- defense if there are hostile people who will attempt to board and seize her.)

“Kung active service vessel po yan, katulad ng BRP Jose Rizal, ay fully justified po sila na gamitan ng dahas para depensahan ang sarili at pigilan kung sinuman ang magtatangka kumuha sa kanya,” he added.

(If it's an active service vessel, like the BRP Jose Rizal, they are fully justified in using force to defend themselves and prevent anyone from trying to take her.)

The Sierra Madre is a World War II-era tank landing ship that was intentionally ran aground by the Philippine Navy in 1999 at Ayungin Shoal to maintain the country’s territorial claim of the area. It has a detachment of Philippine Marines onboard.—RF, GMA Integrated News