CAGAYAN de Oro City 2nd District Rep. Rufus Rodriguez today urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to seek the help of the United States in preventing future Chinese attacks on Philippine vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
The Mindanao lawmaker made the appeal in response to the President’s statement calling for a paradigm shift in dealing with Chinese aggression in the WPS.
“I support the President’s call. We should be done protesting Beijing’s continued harassment and bullying of our Coast Guard and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) personnel, our fishermen, our small contingent of soldiers in Ayungin Shoal, and our civilian boat crew involved in resupply missions. Our numerous and repeated protestations have fallen on deaf ears,” he said.
“Mahaba ang pasensiya nating mga Pilipino, pero may hangganan ang ating pasensiya,” he said.
Rodriguez said in exploring a new tack, the President should consider consulting with its defense treaty ally, the US, in tackling future Chinese aggressive activities in the WPS.
He said the President could invoke the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty between the Philippines and the US.
He cited Article lll of the treaty: “The Parties, through their foreign ministers or their deputies, will consult together from time to time regarding the implementation of this Treaty and whenever in the opinion of either of them the territorial integrity, political independence or security of either of the Parties is threatened by external armed attack in the Pacific.”
He further quoted Article V, which provides that “an armed attack on either of the Parties is deemed to include an armed attack on the metropolitan territory of either of the Parties, or on the island territories under its jurisdiction in the Pacific or on its armed forces, public vessels or aircraft in the Pacific.”
Rodriguez suggested that President Marcos call for consultations between the Philippines and the United States on future scenarios in the West Philippine Sea.
“It’s obvious that there has been no ‘armed attack’ yet – an assault that is within the purview of the treaty. But certainly, there is threat to our personnel and fishermen and to our country’s ‘territorial integrity…or security’,” he said.
He said the Philippines could ask the US “how, as a defense treaty ally, it could help address this threat and assist us in asserting, protecting and defending our sovereignty, territorial integrity and maritime rights in the West Philippine Sea.”
He said China has been evidently calibrating its responses to such assertions.
“Before, we did not see our Coast Guard and BFAR personnel, fishermen and civilian boat crew being water-cannoned or subjected to military-grade laser and loud acoustic blasts, and being blocked in a very aggressive way in their missions and activities. Now, we see those tactics being used on our people in a very dangerous manner. What would they do next?” Rodriguez said.
He added that though the Chinese have not resorted to an “armed attack, they have definitely employed force on our personnel, fishermen and civilian boat crew.”
At the same time, Rodriguez reiterated his appeal to the Department of National Defense and the military to not use civilian boats in resupplying soldiers stationed in Ayungin Shoal.
“These are military missions that should be undertaken by military personnel. Let us stop exposing civilians to danger. Let us not try to avoid an ‘armed attack on a public vessel or aircraft’ by using civilians,” he said.
