DFA commends book store for pulling out China-made globes

The Philippine government has commended the country's largest book and school and office supplies retailer for "demonstrating its patriotism" in pulling out China-manufactured educational globes from its shelves.

In a letter addressed to Cecilia Ramos Licauco, vice president for purchasing of National Book Store Inc., Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said even President Aquino was "delighted and proud" of the bookstore chain's "selfless and patriotic action."

"As a major provider of educational products in the Philippines, National Book Store plays a valuable role in enriching the knowledge of young Filipinos. I was highly encouraged by your management's decision to withdraw the China-manufactured educational globes from your retail stores following our discussion on the misinformation contained in these globes on China's contentious nine-dash line encompassing virtually the entire West Philippine Sea. Your resolve in immediately implementing this decision reflected your company's strong sense of nationalism and above economic profit," Del Rosario said in his letter dated February 15, 2013.

The DFA chief also told Licauco that the arbitral proceedings initiated by the Philippines against China on the nine-dash line is entering a "critical juncture".

"It is vital that the Filipino people stand in unity to defend 'what is ours' on accordance with the Philippine Constitution. I believe that National Book Stores' example will inspire Filipinos to express their patriotism in their own individual capacities," Del Rosario added.

The education globes showed Beijing's claims to a large part of the South China Sea or the West Philippine Sea.

In January, the Philippines initiated arbitration to resolve the dispute between it and China regarding a number of areas in the South China Sea.

The Philippines said it took China before an Arbitral Tribunal under the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) "to achieve a peaceful and durable solution to the dispute over the West Philippine Sea."

Both the Philippines and China signed the UNCLOS.

 

The Philippines has been claiming that Scarborough Shoal, which triggered a standoff between Manila and Beijing in April, is within the 200-mile exclusive economic zone of the Philippines as provided for under the UNCLOS. China, on the other hand, has been claiming the territory on the basis of historical claims.

Del Rosario has said the Philippines asserts that China's so-called nine-dash line claim that encompasses virtually the entire South China/West Philippine Sea is contrary to UNCLOS and thus unlawful.

The DFA chief has added that Manila is hoping that the arbitration tribunal will direct China to respect the Philippines' sovereign rights and jurisdiction over its EEZ, continental shelf, contiguous zone, and territorial sea over the West Philippine Sea.

Arbitration has been defined both by the 1899 and 1907 Hague conventions as "the settlement of differences between judges of their own choice and on the basis of respect for law."

An arbitration tribunal may be composed of a single arbitrator or a collegiate body. Contracting parties would have to shoulder arbitration costs.

As for the cost  of the proceedings that the Filipino people would have to pay for, Del Rosario said "one can not put a price in the concerted effort of the Filipino people and government in defending our patrimony, territory, national interest and national honor."

He said the arbitration proceedings may last between three and four years.

Meanwhile, Zhang Hua, Deputy Chief of Political Section and Spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy,  has said the "disputes on South China Sea should be settled by parties concerned through negotiations."

"This (settlement of disputes through negotiations) is also the consensus reached by parties concerned in the DOC (The Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea)," Zhang  has said in a text message. (http://bit.ly/W754ym)

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CNN: Fishermen caught out by politics of West Philippine (South China) Sea

Efren Forones (center) and his fellow fishermen embark on the 38-hour trip to fishing grounds around the disputed Scarborough Shoal.

Luzon, Philippines (CNN) -- A year ago, a fisherman Efren Forones came back from fishing trips with up to three and half tons of fish. In return he was able to buy 15 to 20 kilos of rice for his family every month and was planning to send at least one of his six children to college.

Not any more.

He now returns with just 400 kilos of catch at best, meaning he can only afford one to two kilos of rice a month, while school for his children is an expensive luxury and out of the question.

The reason? He says he can longer fish in the fertile waters around Scarborough Shoal.

A cluster of uninhabitable sand banks and small rocks set in a shallow azure water lagoon about 130 miles (200 km) west from the Philippine island of Luzon, Scarborough Shoal is one of a number of territories at the center of an international dispute in the South China Sea.

Both the Philippines and China lay claim to it.

Tense standoff

The long-term tensions between the two nations escalated last April during a one-month stand off between the two nations, after Manila accused Chinese boats of fishing illegally in the area. When a Philippines navy vessel inspected the boats it found "large amounts of illegally collected corals, giant clams and live sharks" inside one of the boats, according to the Philippine government. Manila then reported that two Chinese surveillance ships had taken up position at the mouth of the lagoon, blocking the way to the fishing boats and "preventing the arrest" of the fishermen. The vessels stretched a cable across the mouth of the lagoon, which also prevented Filipino fishermen from going there, according to the Philippines coast guard.

READ: Why Manila is taking China to tribunal

Earlier this year, the Philippine government took its feud with China to a United Nations tribunal, a move that Beijing has rejected. In an article on state-run CCTV last month, China pointed to a code of conduct it signed in 2002, known as the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, with fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). It said the declaration expected that relevant disputes be solved through friendly talks and negotiations by sovereign states directly concerned.

That brings little comfort to the struggling fishermen in communities in west Luzon, the nearest region to Scarborough Shoal -- also known as Panatag Shoal here or Huangyan Island to the Chinese. One of them is Masinloc, a municipality of 40,000 people, which relies on the seas for almost 80% of its income, according to the Philippines Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources. It says thousands of fishermen have lost their regular jobs as catches decline.

Forones is one of them.

The 52 year old has been fishing in the waters off Masinloc for 22 years. He lives with his family in a traditional bamboo house mounted on pillars above the sea. His youngest daughter is four years old. Forones does not own a boat but used to be hired as a fisherman and paid a minimum of $85 dollars for a trip. Nobody is hiring now. He has tried to rent boats on his own and fish with his neighbors, but the little catch they bring back barely covers the rental fee and fuel.

READ: Asia's disputed islands -- who claims what?

He says the Shoal is the most important fishing ground in this region. "They (the Chinese) shoo us away, will not allow Filipinos to come near the area," he says. "They are the only ones that can fish there, not us. We lost Scarborough and it is hard. We earn nothing."

Beijing is unwavering in its claims. As recently as last month, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported that Chinese surveillance vessels were carrying out regular missions in the West Philippine Sea.

The Xinhua report cited Liu Cigui, director of the State Oceanic Administration, as saying that China would continue the patrols "to secure the nation's maritime rights and interests" in areas it claims as its territorial waters.

China's claim on the area dates back to 1279 during the Yuan Dynasty, when Chinese astronomer Guo Shoujing conducted a survey. Then in 1935, China declared sovereignty over 132 islands, reefs and shoals in the South China Sea, with the Scarborough Shoal -- or Huangyan -- included as a part of the Zhongsha Islands, according to Xinhua.

However, Forones is in little doubt who the lagoon, which lies within what the Philippines declares as its Exclusive Economic Zone, belongs to.

"Of course it is ours. We own Scarborough," he insists. "But China is trying to get it from us. Our government should fix that. We should seek help from the United States if the Philippine government cannot handle it alone."

Nowhere else to go

Forones and his wife plan to stay in Masinloc, for now. He will try to start diving for shellfish. By selling clams, mussels and oysters, they can make around $5 a day. Enough to buy rice and other basic food to feed the family. "There is no other place where we can go. I will stay here, get shells from nearby and help my husband to make living," Forones' wife, Gemma, says.

The situation is similar in Subic, a town 55 miles (88 km) south of Masinloc. It used to host one of the biggest American naval bases outside the United States, before it closed in 1991.

Operators of the fishing market on the outskirts of the town of 90,000 say business is down 50% since the fishermen were blocked from fishing where they wanted to at Scarborough. Many fishermen here share a similar story to their counterparts further north.

"When we went there, a Chinese vessel, the Chinese Marine Surveillance blocked our path," says Ronnie Drio, 46-year-old father of eight children. "As we managed to get past through it, it looked like they called another one because a different ship appeared and blocked our way again.

"That's when we got trapped. Then a Chinese man stepped out. He looked like their highest officer. He flashed a sign that we had to leave immediately. We were kicked out like pigs."

A number of fishermen have already left Subic and Masinloc and many more are considering it. One of them, 58-year-old Tolomeo "Lomi" Forones, is Efren's cousin. He's been a fisherman for 30 years but now makes a living as a motorbike taxi driver. He makes around $2 on a good day.

"Our income was higher when we used to fish at Scarborough. I even used to save money. But now we earn just enough for daily consumption and sometimes what we earn is not even enough to provide food."

Dangerous waters

He still does occasional fishing trips but against his wife's wish. Janet Forones wants to leave Masinloc and their low income is not the only reason: "Who would not get worried when they are out there? What if they get shot?" She was referring to the presence of the Chinese boats.

What puzzles the fishermen here most is the speed the whole situation has changed. Although the Philippine and Chinese governments have disputed each other's claim to the lagoon for many years, they could fish at Scarborough alongside Chinese fishermen up until a few months ago.

"I do not know why they don't like us or why they do not want us within that area. If Americans were still in the region, the Chinese would have never came to Scarborough because they would be scared. If our government allows the U.S. to come back over here, its OK with me," she says, referring to Washington's commitment to its mutual defense treaty with the Philippines that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reaffirmed last year.

But the solution to the dispute is as distant as ever. Litigation at the United Nations could last years. Most of the local fishermen do not have so much time. So while the governments squabble, many of these fishermen and their families will have to leave the only life they have known and start from scratch somewhere else. (http://bit.ly/ZpDToT)

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