Armed Forces of the Philippines Western Command commander Lt. Gen. Juancho Sabban, right, Kalayaan municipality Mayor Eugenio Bito-onon, 2nd right, and Philippine Congressman Walden Bello, 3rd right, walk along the shores of Pagasa Island, part of the disputed Spratly group of islands, in the South China Sea located off the coast of western Philippines, July 20, 2011
Philippine lawmakers visited tiny islands the Philippines claims in the disputed South China Sea, prompting complaints from China.
Island touring of Philippines Law Makers - Hope
The four legislators, accompanied by members of the military and journalists, visited what the Philippines calls the Kalayaan, or “freedom”, islands.
Congressman Walden Bello replaced a tattered national flag at the municipal hall of the most inhabited island. After the half-day tour of the island, which has a population of 300 people, Bello said his group “successfully enforced Philippine sovereignty.”
“When we landed it was clearly on Philippine soil. We felt that, when we were with the structures, with the people over there…. You know, this was a settled community. Yes, it had military personnel but it had also a thriving civilian community, that’s largely made up of fisher folk. So there was no doubt on our part that we were indisputably on Philippine soil, on Philippine territory,” Bello said.
Chinese claim
However, China claims sovereignty over the entire South China Sea, including the Kalayaan islands, which are part of the Spratly islands group.
Chinese officials were agitated by the group’s visit. The Chinese ambassador met with a foreign affairs official over the matter and embassy spokesman Ethan Sun says it sent the wrong signal.
“It goes against the declaration of the parties in the South China Sea and serves no purpose but to undermine peace and stability in the region and sabotage Philippines- China relationship,” Sun said.
He says China made clear to the Philippine government that it will monitor this sort of activity closely.
Bello calls China’s response to the trip “immature.”
Sultanate of Sulu Claim
“China has no right over the Spratly Islands in what it calls the South China Sea because that is part of our ancestral domain, including the marine territory around it and the waters around these islands is part of the Sulu Sea,” Majaraj Julmuner Jannaral, Sultanate information officer, quoting His Majesty Muhammad Fuad Abdulla Kiram I, the reigning Sultan of Sulu and Sabah (North Borneo).
He said historically, the proprietary rights over the Spratlys, Sabah(North Borneo), the Sulu archipelago, and Palawan and parts of Mindanao belong to the Sultanate of Sulu and (North Borneo) Sabah even long before the Spaniards came to the Philippines.
“Thus, China is violating our people’s human rights by openly and unilaterally announcing ownership of the Spratlys and the waters around it,” the Sultan said in an official statement.
Jannaral, quoting the statement, said “China may have forgotten that the sovereign political right (not the proprietary right) over the disputed area was given by the Sultan’s late father, Sultan Muhammad Esmail E. Kiram I, to President Diosdado Macapagal in 1962, and later in 1969, to President Ferdinand Marcos to recover particularly Sabah (North Borneo) from Malaysia.”
“My blood lineage dates back from the Mahjapahit and Shrivijaya empires, which extended from Sabah (North Borneo), the Sulu archipelago, Palawan, parts of Mindanao, the islands now known as the Spratlys, Palawan, and up to the Visayas and Manila,” the Sultan’s statement reads.
Dialog encouraged
July 20, 2011 (Wednesday), a presidential spokesman reiterated that lawmakers took the trip on their own initiative. Press Secretary Edwin Lacierda says the administration recognizes China’s concern and hopes it will not hamper relations.
“The only thing we can assure them is that we are continuously dialoguing with them and the mere fact that the Chinese ambassador was able to speak with Under Secretary Conegos is a manifestation of the open lines of communication between the two parties,” Lacierda said.
Apart from China and the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei also claim all or part of South China Sea, which is believed to sit above deposits of natural gas and oil. China insists on bilateral talks, while the other parties want a multilateral approach.
ASEAN agreement
On Wednesday, Southeast Asian and Chinese officials meeting in Indonesia agreed on a set of non-binding guidelines for implementing the 2002 Declaration of Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.
That could eventually lead to a binding code of conduct for handling disputes in the region. A Chinese foreign ministry official at the ASEAN meeting called the agreement an important milestone for cooperation. But the Philippines say Wednesday’s agreement has not teeth.
In recent months, the Philippines and Vietnam have complained of Chinese incursions into their waters. The Philippines says in March Chinese sea patrols harassed an oil exploration ship operating within its 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone. The country says at least six other intrusions took place.
Journalists who traveled with the legislators report that island residents say they get along fine with fishermen from other claimant countries and exchange greetings with Chinese fishing crews when they cross paths.
