By Priam Nepomuceno | Philippine News Agency
On Monday, April 28, a ranking National Security Council (NSC) official told China and its maritime forces to stop actions that would escalate tensions in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), following Chinese claims over the weekend that it had seized one of the Pag-asa Island cays.
NSC Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya said there is no truth to the claim of the China Coast Guard (CCG) that the Pag-asa cays were seized.
“The facts on the ground do not support this statement coming from the CCG; therefore, we urge the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the CCG to act with restraint and not increase tensions in the WPS,” he said in a media briefing.
The National Task Force-West Philippine Sea said the Philippines asserted its sovereignty over Pag-asa Cays 1, 2, 3, and its surrounding waters through an inter-agency maritime operation on Sunday morning, April 27.
“This coordinated effort involved the Philippine Navy, Philippine Coast Guard, and Philippine National Police-Maritime Group, reinforcing Philippine authorities’ routine and lawful exercise of maritime domain awareness and jurisdiction over the West Philippine Sea,” the agency said.
Malaya reminded China of its commitment in the 2002 Declaration of Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, where signatories agreed not to take over unoccupied features.
“We urge the People’s Republic of China and the Chinese Coast Guard to maintain the status quo in the WPS, consistent again with the 2002 Declaration of Conduct, which they themselves adhere to, which they themselves continue to refer to in each and every statement issued by the Chinese Foreign Ministry,” he said.
Malaya also urged China to stop all provocative activities in the WPS, uphold international law and help reduce tensions, adding that such activities will not benefit any nation.
He emphasized that China’s fake claims that it seized cays are part of its efforts to dominate the “information space”.
“As we all know, the information space nowadays is also a battleground. So it’s really a matter of trying to dominate the information, narratives coming from various sources. So it’s in the interest of the PRC if they are able to utilize the information space to intimidate and harass. So this is also one form of gray zone operations on the part of the PRC,” he added. (PNA)
