Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 24) — Amid the dispute over the West Philippine Sea (WPS), President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has proposed to “raise the level of discourse” between the Philippines and China, suggesting to discuss at a “ministerial level.”
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According to Marcos, the bilateral group working on the WPS issues is currently on a sub-ministerial level only.
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“Let me clarify what we talked about with President Xi [Jinping]. It was very simple. I said we have to raise the level of discourse between the Philippines and China,” Marcos told a media panel on Monday.
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“Let’s bring it to a ministerial level, and I will ask my foreign secretary to be part of it,” he said. “I will ask my ambassador to China to be part of it.”
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The President believes this will expedite the resolution of conflicts, adding that if any decision needs to be made regarding the WPS, either the foreign secretary or the ambassador can talk to him, “and within five minutes we will have a decision.”
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Marcos said he hopes China can do the same, as Xi “was agreeable” to his proposal.
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“He assigned his foreign minister to take care of the details. That’s what we’re working on now,” Marcos said.
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The President made the clarification following the recent incident in the WPS, where a Chinese Coast Guard ship reportedly drove away a Filipino fishing boat at Ayungin Shoal on Jan. 9.
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“I think the actions that are needed are really from the Chinese side,” Marcos said. “And that is because we do not send Coast Guard boats into what we consider their waters or international waters. They stay within Philippine waters.”
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The Philippine Coast Guard on Saturday said it has launched a probe into the incident. Philippine officials have also reached out to Chinese officials.
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“Hopefully our counterparts on the other side can bring it to President Xi’s attention,” Marcos said.
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“I just hope we can come to some kind of arrangement because I cannot see the utility for the Chinese of doing that,” he continued. “These fishing boats are not armed. They don’t pose a threat to anyone.”
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DFA poised to take diplomatic action
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Earlier, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) vowed to take appropriate diplomatic action against Beijing upon verification of the incident at Ayungin Shoal.
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As of Tuesday, the DFA said it is still awaiting official reports from the military and enforcement agencies which will serve as the basis for the diplomatic action.
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The department also reiterated that Ayungin Shoal is part of the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.
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This means the Philippines is entitled to exercise sovereign rights and jurisdiction in the area without any intervention from another country, it said.
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“Filipino fishermen are free to exercise their rights and take whatever they are due under Philippine and international law, particularly the 1982 UNCLOS and the final and binding 2016 Arbitral Award,” the DFA wrote in a statement.
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It also pointed out that the country already established a permanent presence in the shoal in 1995, with the actively commissioned Philippine naval vessel, the BRP Sierra Madre.
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Over a week ago, Marcos said China has agreed not to prevent Filipino fishermen from fishing in the WPS.
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He also previously said he and Xi have agreed to find a compromise that will benefit Filipino fishermen.
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On Tuesday, however, the President clarified they “haven’t come to that compromise yet.”
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