Año: PH committed to dialogue, diplomacy despite China's aggression in WPS

National Security Adviser and National Security Council (NSC) Director General Eduardo Año said the Philippines remains committed to resorting to peaceful means while still boosting defense capabilities amid Chinese aggression in the West Philippine Sea.

“Despite all these provocative, unilateral, and illegal actions that continue to violate our sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction, we are still committed to promoting peace and resolving issues through ‘dialogue and diplomacy,’” Año said Friday.

The NSC chief made the remark following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s statement that the Philippine government has to do more than just file protests against Chinese aggressive actions in the country’s territorial waters.

This came after the Philippines has sent another note verbale to China after a Filipino sailor lost his thumb in an incident in Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea on June 17.

Filipino soldiers were then on a resupply mission to deliver food and supplies to fellow soldiers stationed at the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal. The Armed Forces of the Philippines said it was an "intentional-high speed ramming" by the China Coast Guard (CCG). The CCG however said the Philippine ship illegally intruded into the waters adjacent to the Second Thomas Shoal and ignored China's repeated solemn warnings.

“While we vehemently denounce and repeatedly express grave concerns on the continued hostile behaviors of our neighbor, our commitment and pursuit for peace and stability within and around our territory is not pushed to the side,” Año said during a thanksgiving dinner for WPS transparency partners aboard the BRP Melchora Aquino docked in Manila.

“In fact, we have been exerting our best efforts to urge China to respect and act in accordance with international laws, rules and orders and be true to their words by translating them into actions,” the NSC chief said.

Año added that while the Philippines is committed to peaceful means, the Marcos administration with the Armed Forces of the Philippines “will continue to defend our nation and our people, our territorial integrity, and sovereign rights.”

“In the face of all these foreign incursions, we are determined as ever to progressively build our defense capabilities to effectively deter and counter all threats to our nation’s peace and security,” he said.

“As a sovereign state, it is our duty as well to upgrade our readiness and capabilities to assert our rights and push back against illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive tactics. In this respect, no country can stop us from bolstering our defense posture and tell us what to do and what not to do within our Exclusive Economic Zone,” he added.

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, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled that China's claims over the South China Sea had no legal basis, a decision Beijing does not recognize.

In the same ruling, The Hague court said that the Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal, Spratly Islands, Panganiban (Mischief) Reef, and Recto (Reed) Bank are within the Philippine exclusive economic zone. The Scarborough Shoal, meanwhile, was deemed as a common fishing ground.

Ayungin Shoal is located 105 nautical miles west of Palawan and is well within the Philippines' 200-mile EEZ and is part of its continental shelf. —KG, GMA Integrated News