The government will continue to uphold the country’s sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction in the Julian Felipe Reef in the Kalayaan Group of Islands despite the arrival of 400,000 doses of China-donated Sinovac vaccines today.
Philippine Ambassador to China Jose Santiago L. Sta. Romana who helped facilitate the delivery of the vaccines from China told PTV, “This is the point I want to make clear, donation of vaccines, cooperation on vaccine response is one thing. Our sovereign rights issue in the WPS is another thing. So these are two separate tracks. We can cooperate on vaccines. We welcome donations. We are willing to purchase because this is part of the cooperation between the two countries against the common enemy, the virus. On the other hand, whenever there are acts that infringes on our sovereignty or our sovereign rights, we take principal position.”
China is one of the first countries to donate COVID-19 vaccines to the Philippines but Amb. Sta. Romana insisted that infringement on territorial rights is a different matter.
“There is no linkage, It does not mean because we are accepting vaccines that we will give up our position on the West Philippine Sea this is actually a sterling proof that we walk on two tracks. We welcome the vaccines in one hand but we make our position clear both to China and internationally,” Ambassador Sta. Romana clarified.
Yesterday, the Department of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on the “unauthorized and lingering presence of Chinese fishing vessels in and around Julian Felipe Reef”, where the Philippines demanded China to “promptly withdraw” its fishing vessels and maritime assets in the area which belongs to the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone.
The DFA decried China’s “infringement” as contrary to its commitments under the international law and the ASEAN-China Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.
The Chinese embassy has not responded to reporters’ queries for comment on the recent statement of the DFA but initially told the media that the fishing vessels are merely “seeking shelter” due to rough sea conditions.
“We expect that when the weather clears, if they’re only taking shelter they will leave the area and the last thing we want to expect is another incident or violence. This is something we want to prevent,” the diplomat expressed.
On March 21, DFA filed a diplomatic protest against China on this matter.
Meanwhile, 1 million doses of Chinese vaccines procured by the government is set to arrive Monday. Authorities are also negotiating 1 to 2 million doses of Sinovac in April and in its subsequent months until a total of 25 million doses is reached by year-end.
“This is really the work of the two governments. As you know last year, President Xi and President Duterte had a phone conversation. President Xi promised that China would help the Philippines when it comes to vaccines,” Ambassador Sta. Romana noted. -Naomi Tiburcio
