Published May 11, 2021, 7:48 PM
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. on Tuesday issued a “last warning” against those who “talked tough and ended up biting dirt” following the confusion caused by the statement of Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque regarding the Philippine stand on Julian Felipe Reef in the West Philippine Sea.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. discusses the West Philippine Sea issue in a meeting with President Duterte and other Cabinet members in Davao City on May 10, 2021 (Malacañang)
Prior to Locsin’s latest tweet on Roque’s faux pas, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has reiterated that the Philippine statement claiming Julian Felipe Reef as part of the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone “remains unchanged”.
Published May 11, 2021, 5:10 PM
The Philippines has claims over Julian Felipe Reef but has never been in possession of the area where hundreds of Chinese vessels were spotted last March, according of a Palace official.
Chinese vessels have been spotted at the Julian Felipe Reef located within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone on March 27, 2021. (Photo: National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea)
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque wondered about the fuss over Julian Felipe Reef, which he argued was not supposedly even part of the country’s exclusive economic zone.
“We were never in possession of that area and we’re making a big thing out of the fact that that area naman in the first place was never under our possession,” Roque said during a televised press briefing Tuesday, May 11.
This is the second in a two-part series on the potential impacts of presidential elections in the region on relations with China and the United States. Here, Sarah Zheng examines how territorial disputes with Beijing could influence next year’s Philippine poll.
Beijing’s actions in the South China Sea are threatening to become a central issue in next year’s Philippine presidential election, as tensions flare over Chinese vessels’ presence near features in the disputed waters.
Analysts say President Rodrigo Duterte’s approach to Beijing’s increasingly aggressive assertions in the waters will influence the position of contenders to succeed him in the vote next May, which Duterte cannot contest because of the one-term limit.
Published May 8, 2021, 12:25 PM
Amid the word war between President Duterte and retired Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, Muntinglupa Representative Rozzano ‘’Ruffy’’ Biazon on Saturday, May 8, said the West Philippine Sea (WPS) should be a high priority issue in the coming 2022 presidential elections.
TIGHT WATCH – Crew members of Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessel BRP Cabra monitor the departure of seven Chinese militia vessels from the Sabina Shoal in the West Philippine Sea on April 27, 2021. (Philippine Coast Guard)
“The SCS (South China Sea)/WPS issue should take a high priority as presidential candidates file their Certificates of Candidacy in five months’ time. With the way things are shaping up in that maritime domain, it’s quite clear that it’ll be a focus of foreign policy by China and the United States and its allies in the coming years,” Biazon, senior vice chairman of the House Committee on National Defense and Security, said in a statemen
(AFP / MANILA BULLETIN)
According to the academic group, the policies and actions of China towards the West Philippine Sea “continue to be a serious concern” in the Philippine-China relations.
Over 200 Chinese militia vessels have been spotted mooring the Julian Felipe reef, according to the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS). There were also two People’s Liberation Army Navy vessels seen in Bajo de Masinloc.
Julian Felipe Reef, also known as the Whitsun, located some 175 nautical miles east of Bataraza, Palawan.
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) has affirmed the Philippines’ jurisdiction over the Julian Felipe Reef.