No country can claim the entire SCS, Manalo says

FOREIGN Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo, in an international media forum on Tuesday, said no single country could claim almost the entirety of the South China Sea as its territory.

At the same forum, Ambassador to Manila MaryKay Carlson said with like-minded countries, the US had urged China to cease harassment of Philippine vessels lawfully operating in the Philippine exclusive economic zones.

Addressing the East-West Center’s International Media Forum in Manila, Manalo and Carlson acknowledged the role of the media in reporting what was happening in the region, including developments in the South China Sea and West Philippine Sea (WPS).

Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo (PHOTO: MIKE ALQUINTO) 

Manalo noted that some local and foreign journalists on board Philippine vessels patrolling the WPS or on humanitarian missions to Filipinos in the area had witnessed for themselves “the harassment and intimidation our people have faced.”

He was referring to the harassment by the China Coast Guard and Chinese Maritime Militia of Philippine vessels on resupply missions to troops stationed at the beached BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal and to Filipino fishermen in Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal.

“Your work has helped to put the spotlight on what is really happening in the West Philippine Sea,” Manalo said in a speech.

“And your reporting has highlighted our country’s efforts to push back against illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive actions in our own waters,” he said.

Manalo said the Philippines had “championed a consistent position: maritime claims in the South China Sea cannot go beyond Unclos (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea).”

“No single country can claim almost the entirety of the South China Sea as its territory,” he said.

He added, “For far too long, the narrative surrounding the West Philippine Sea has been obscured by disinformation, coupled with attacks against our government’s IT (information technology) infrastructure.”

“One such false narrative paints the West Philippine Sea as merely a stage for Great Power rivalry in the region, that the Philippines is just a pawn in this game, and that we act only at the behest of another country,” Manalo said.

Carlson said, “When disputes arise, they should be resolved in accordance with international law.”

“When the United States sees our partners being bullied in their backyard, we speak up. And we encourage others to speak up as well — and they are doing so,” she said.

“The chorus against threats to peace and stability in the South China Sea is growing louder and stronger each day,” Carlson said.

The US and the Philippines’ allies also urged China to halt its disruption to states’ sovereign rights to explore, use, conserve and manage natural resource1s in their territories and exclusive economic zones.

Carlson said Manila’s allies also called on Beijing “to end its interference with the freedoms of navigation and overflight of all states lawfully operating in the region.”

“Let me assure you that here in the Philippines, I am reading what you write, and I know my fellow ambassadors in the region are doing the same. Your reporting is essential for us to understand when our strategy is working, when it isn’t, and how we should adjust,” Carlson said.