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The President of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte – Photo: REUTERS
Harry Roque, a spokesman for the Philippine Presidential Palace, said President Duterte repeated what he said before the United Nations General Assembly in September 2020 when he met with Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian.
“The president insisted that this should be resolved by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). He also reiterated that the Philippines won the International Court of Arbitration on the South China Sea in 2016,” the Mr. Roque gave a brief report at a press conference on March 25.
According to Roque, the meeting had been scheduled for a long time, before it was reported that more than 220 suspected Chinese marine militia ships had gathered at Ba Dau Rock. Leaf Rappler he quoted Mr. Roque as saying that the meeting was originally for the Chinese ambassador to celebrate President Duterte’s birthday.
However, the Philippine leader raised the issue of Chinese ships after meeting with the Beijing representative. “The president has emphasized that the Philippines is really concerned about such ships. Any country that sees a number of ships of that size will be concerned,” the spokesman said.
According to Reuters, the meeting took place days after the Philippine Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Defense issued a statement protesting more than 220 Chinese ships anchored in Ba Dau rock in Vietnam’s Spratly archipelago.
The Philippine Coast Guard described the boats anchored in rows of dozens of boats as “not really fishing.” According to observers, Chinese ships began gathering on Ba Dau rock since March last year, but the number of hundreds of ships like this is unprecedented.
On March 22, the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines issued a statement claiming that the Chinese boats on the Ba Dau rock were simply “ordinary fishing boats” taking shelter due to bad weather.
Satellite photo of Maxar taken on March 23 shows that Chinese ships are still present in large numbers on Ba Dau rock in Vietnam’s Spratly archipelago – Photo: MAXAR / Rappler
“China invades Vietnamese sovereignty”
Responding to a question at the usual press conference on the afternoon of March 25, Vietnam Foreign Ministry spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang claimed that China had violated Vietnam’s sovereignty and, at the same time, asked her to China to stop the rape.
The spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that the activities of Chinese ships within the territorial sea of Sinh Ton Dong, belonging to the Spratly Islands of Vietnam, have violated the sovereignty of Vietnam, violating the provisions of the Convention on the activities of the foreign ships. in the coastal national territorial sea, contrary to the spirit and content of the Declaration on the conduct of the countries of the Eastern Sea (DOC), complicates the situation, is not conducive to negotiations. Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC) between ASEAN and China.
Regarding the presence or not of the appearance of Vietnamese ships on the Ba Dau rock, spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang emphasized: “I can say that the security forces of Vietnam fulfill their duties and duties, as stipulated in the relevant laws of Vietnam, in addition to strictly complying with the relevant provisions of international law, the first of which is the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. “
What is China doing in Ba Dau?
