A Fight for our Sovereignty: Losing it now means losing it forever

“The Biblical account of David defeating a nine feet tall giant Goliath
is a lesson of courage, faith, and overcoming what seems impossible.”

It is of paramount public interest to discuss contemporary issues

surrounding the troubled waters of the West Philippine Sea. The fight for its
ownership still has not attained serenity. The fuss both on the island and on
the maritime area has always been a subject of extensive debates, legal
perplexity and bewilderment on allegedly overlapping territories.

For centuries, rival countries namely Brunei, the People’s Republic of

China, Republic of China (Taiwan), Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines and
Vietnam have steadily wrangled over the claims on the disputed West
Philippine Sea. Each of these countries has its own distinct historic basis
why they consider themselves as claimants. In the same vein, they move to
assert their exclusive rights on fishing, potential exploitation of oil
and natural gas on the seabed and to control important commercial
navigation and shipping lanes. The question is, who will end up a winner
and who will end up a loser?

The Philippines, being an archipelagic and maritime state, remains

adamant in asserting its ownership over the maritime territory. The area is
vital for our national security, economy and to our territorial integrity. Kudos
to former President Benigno Aquino for making a very strong and timely
decision of changing the name of South China Sea to West Philippine Sea.

Way back in 1978, Presidential Decree No. 1599 was also

promulgated. It is a law creating an exclusive economic zone extending to a
distance of 200 nautical miles from the baseline from which the territorial
sea is measured.

It is crystal clear that many laws and statutes were construed to

solidify our ownership over the West Philippine Sea. As time goes by, they
are necessary to maintain our territorial integrity. Laws and statutes will
shield us from any false claims of ownership from other countries. It will
serve as a constructive notice to the world that we can demand them respect
over areas falling under our exclusive economic zone or EEZ.

The claim of the Philippines is based on its rights under the United
Nations 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). China and the
Philippines are among the 167 signatories of UNCLOS. The United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea does not grant sovereignty to countries
over certain areas but declares what countries may claim from the sea.
Hence, countries are granted 12 nautical miles of Exclusive Economic Zone
(EEZ) from the islands.

The West Philippine Sea includes both the Kalayaan group of islands
which is a part of the Spratly Islands and the Panatag Shoal or
internationally known as Scarborough shoal. These two are distinct from
each other in such a way that the former is above water which some are
considered as islands while the latter has an entirely submerged feature.

The Kalayaan group of Islands, being a part of the Spratly group of

islands, is situated within the West Philippine Sea. The Kalayaan
municipality includes the Pagasa Island which is 280 nautical miles north-
west of Puerto Princesa and 932 kilometers south-west of Metro Manila. It
consists of a single barangay located on Pag-asa island which also serves as
the seat of the municipal government. It anchors the world’s thirty percent of
marine biodiversity.

Republic Act 9522 of 2009 which defined the archipelagic baselines

of the Philippines, claimed sovereignty over the Kalayaan Group of Islands
which described the territory as a”Regime of Islands” defined in the United
Nation Convention on Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

On the other hand, the Scarborough Shoal also known as the Panatag
Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc in Spanish is a shoal located between the
Macclesfield Bank and Luzon Island in the West Philippine Sea. The shoal
is said to be the home of various species of fish and an area extremely
suitable as fishing grounds. It is known to contain petroleum and natural gas
deposits. It is considered as one of the world’s busiest sea lanes for
commercial navigation.

We appeared stalwart when the Philippine Navy apprehended eight

mainland Chinese fishing vessels in the Scarborough shoal on April 8, 2012.
The shoal is also a disputed territory claimed by People’s Republic of China,
Taiwan and the Philippines. It was formerly administered by us but because
of the Scarborough standoff, China took over its administration The
aftermath standoff led to a more strained Philippine-China relationship.

What happened during the Scarborough standoff? The giant China

acted like a beast in undermining our law. They used their power to usurp,
intimidate and ridicule us. Our hearts begin to bleed. The entire Filipino
nation started to suffer an excruciating pain. The unfairness is so blatant. It is
unjust on our part that we lost the administration of Scarborough shoal.
Something is really wrong! Is China unaware of our laws? Or did China put
our laws into oblivion?

According to Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, who

is a staunched fighter of our sovereign rights, by fact and by law, the
Philippines has exclusive jurisdiction over the famous Scarborough Shoal
and those maritime areas that are within our 200 nautical miles exclusive
economic zone. He added that the exclusive economic zone in the West
Philippine Sea is a very huge area, larger than our total land area. He even
emphasized that there is oil, natural gas, fish and mineral resources over the
area and that it was incomparable.

Now, here is another issue. China is starting to assert its right over
Sandy Cay. This is too much! It is an act of overwhelming greediness. We
own Sandy Cay. The area formed within the 12-nautical mile territorial sea
of Pag-asa. Sandy Cay emerged out of the territorial sea of Pag-asa which
we control.

Months ago, the issue on Sandy Cay surfaced when China sent its
coast guard vessels and maritime fishing boats to surround over the entire
Sandy Cay. What does it imply? What are their intentions?

Sandy Cay was a low-tide elevation when the Philippines filed a case
against China before the Hague-based arbitral tribunal in 2012. It can be
noted that the tribunal ruling in 2016 invalidated China's historical claims to
nearly the entire South China Sea.

Sandy Cay is located between Subi Reef — another low-tide elevation

claimed by China in the Spratly group of islands — and Pag-asa Island (also
known as Thitu Island), the seat of the Palawan municipality of Kalayaan.
Both features are in Philippines' territorial sea, as stated by the tribunal
ruling.

Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea

(UNCLOS), a low-tide elevation is a naturally-formed land area surrounded
by water. The area stays above water at low tide but is submerged at high
tide.

A big shout out to the world, what is going on? Why does the
Philippines remain calm and sweet as of this moment? Our areas are being
blatantly owned, trespassed and yet we remain very passive! Are we in a
middle of a deep dream and no one dared to awaken us up?

Way back in 2013, it is of great pride and honor that our country
finally made a first step in fighting for our sovereignty. Hence, the
Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary del Rosario elevated our maritime
claim case to the Permanent Court on Arbitration on The Hague,
Netherlands After so many decades, we need to move forward. It is a
necessity.

It was the first time that international legal experts will formally
adjudicate on the validity of China’s territorial claims in the disputed West
Philippine Sea. Former Secretary del Rosario wanted to contest the legal
basis of China’s “nine-dashed line”. The Philippines prays to have China’s
claim be declared null and invalid under the UN Convention on the Law of
the Sea.

Alas, we made it! The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague,

Netherlands officially dismissed China’s so-called nine–dashed claim in the
entire South China Sea and upheld the Philippine claim. We conquered our
fears of losing our territory. The victory is ours. All Filipinos celebrated that
time. The world witnessed history. They saw it as the final chapter of the
decades of dispute. But, one country remained on the dark side. It is China.
China rejected the UN-backed international court decision and even sent
more warships in Scarborough Shoal and other islands controlled by them.

A big insult to the sovereignty of the Philippines! How dare China

neglect and disrespect the rule of law? Are they implying that because we
belong to a third world country they can junk our sovereign rights easily? It
is of deep agony that they impliedly slapped us on the face in front of the
whole world. They underestimated us as if we are so small and defenseless.

The claim of China is erroneous and should be given a scant

consideration. Their main evidence was only their 1947 nine-dashed line
map entitled “Location Map of the South Sea Islands.”

China’s evidences and testimonies cannot be given credence. They

have no persuasive effect because the 9-dashed line encompassing almost
the entire West Philippine Sea has no coordinates. The title of the map
indicates a claim to the islands and not to the sea. The Philippine arbitration
case against China is a maritime dispute and not a territorial dispute. A
territorial dispute refers to conflicting claims of sovereignty over continental
land, island capable of habitation and rock above water at high tide. It is also
not clear whether China claims only land area or all the territorial waters
within the 9-dashed line as well. Vietnam also refuted by saying that China
had never claimed sovereignty over the islands before the 1940s. Vietnam
says it has actively ruled over the Spratlys and the Paracel since the 17 th
century and has the documents to prove it. India, a neighboring Asian
country also expressed concerns over the disputed West Philippine Sea.
 From the above cited facts, issues and by laws, it is immediately
apparent that the Philippines has the more right over the disputed West
Philippine Sea. Our country is legally chosen to be the staunched guardian of
the natural resources embedded in the maritime area. The mineral resources,
natural gas and rights for commercial navigation are huge factors to
strengthen our national territory and optimize our economy.

Our current Philippine foreign policy must be consistent with the

ruling of the arbitrary tribunal. We must be firm with our stand and not be
swayed by any malicious external influences.

In the recent survey conducted by the Pulse Asia last July,2018, 73%
of Filipinos agreed to the statement that the government must assert the 2016
ruling of the tribunal at The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration
that invalidated China's claims over the disputed waters, including the West
Philippine Sea.

Moreover, another Social Weather Station survey said a total of 80%

of the Filipinos are not satisfied with how the administration handles the
territorial dispute with China in the South China Sea.

We want to fight. Most of the Filipinos remain united to speak for

their right and principles. There are many legal means to win this battle. We
urged the present administration to assert a more transparent elaboration of
our sovereign rights on West Philippine Sea. We don’t want to sleep, be
blinded and wait for nothing.

Why are we so complacent? We should act now with a fierce will and
soul. If we lose it now, we will lose it forever. We need to continue filing
cases and protests to the tribunal over the tension on the disputed area. The
Filipino fishermen being harassed by Chinese coastguards in the disputed
area is a very serious matter. It is not just harassment to the fishermen alone
but harassment to the entire Filipino nation.

Filipinos are brave, strong and determined. We don’t surrender easily.

We should file more protest to the tribunal against China’s continued
military buildup over the disputed islands. We should file more protest on
China’s failure to recognize the 2016 ruling by the Permanent Arbitration
Court in The Hague, Netherlands. We also demand an objection at the
International Seabed Authority that could prevent China from gaining
permits to mine on seabeds. We urge the Philippines to file a case in the
tribunal against China's destruction of coral reefs China had continuingly
made.

“Salus populi est suprema lex”, the welfare of the people is the
supreme law. We, the citizens of the Philippines must not stop in battling for
our sovereignty. We must stand on our principles. We need to be abreast of
the present happenings on our territory especially the West Philippine Sea.
We must guard our beloved territory for the best interest of our nation.
Whatever happens, we must remember to always uphold the rule of law.