Panayam kay maritime law expert Atty. Jay Batongbacal
Panayam kay maritime law expert Atty. Jay Batongbacal
Transcript
00:00 A new incident in the West Philippine Sea, we will discuss with
00:04 Attorney Jay Batong-Bacal, Maritime Law Expert and Director
00:09 of UP Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea.
00:13 Attorney Jay, good afternoon.
00:16 Good afternoon to you and everyone listening.
00:20 Attorney, what can you say about the new water cannon incident in our ships
00:26 that is being used to carry out a resupply mission in the West Philippine Sea?
00:30 First, the President is right that this is illegal because
00:35 such operations like supporting our fishing boats are our right
00:40 as the owner of the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines.
00:45 Such operations should be done by us only.
00:48 We have a legal right to do so.
00:50 No other country is allowed to enter
00:53 our waters.
00:56 Attorney Jay, this is Chi.
00:59 What can you say about this aggressive action of China
01:03 despite our good dialogue with them?
01:07 This shows the true face of China,
01:11 that their intention is to occupy and steal our waters,
01:16 particularly the West Philippine Sea.
01:19 If they win in such operations,
01:23 your Philippines will lose its waters.
01:27 Maybe only 20 or 40 kilometers of the sea will be left.
01:32 That's not right.
01:33 That has no basis in international law.
01:36 That is one of our rights and sovereignty.
01:40 President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said that
01:44 because of this new incident, the Philippines' determination
01:49 to protect the rights of the West Philippine Sea is stronger.
01:53 What can you say about this, Attorney?
01:56 That's what should be answered to the threat and abuse of China.
02:01 They think that they are relying on the Philippines to win
02:06 and they will surrender because they are stronger.
02:10 But if we are going to be defended by the law,
02:14 we should face them and show that they cannot easily deceive us
02:19 and we can't be fooled by them.
02:22 All countries should have equal rights, especially in the sea.
02:26 That equality was added to the UNG Clause.
02:30 China, after signing the UNG Clause,
02:34 suddenly changed its mind and is violating it.
02:38 That's not good.
02:40 That kind of behavior is not trustworthy.
02:42 We should insist that whatever we agreed on in the UNG Clause,
02:47 China should follow it.
02:49 This is the right position that the President has about this.
02:55 Attorney, at this point, what do you think is the countermeasures
02:59 that our government should do to repeatedly ignore China,
03:04 including the issue of the West Philippine Sea?
03:07 We should consider many things because many Chinese businesses made investments here in the Philippines.
03:17 They also have many operations here, business operations.
03:22 We should stop that.
03:25 If China continues, their contracts with us should be cancelled.
03:30 I'm thinking of their oil exploration contracts that they haven't implemented yet.
03:37 If they continue to stop us from using our sea,
03:41 we should remove them from those kinds of activities.
03:46 Other businesses like POGO, which is illegal to them,
03:51 we should insist on removing them from those activities.
03:55 Aside from taking the POGO aside,
04:00 will this not cause a big result for our economy,
04:06 considering China is one or is our biggest investor?
04:11 If we look at our trading relations,
04:16 we are the ones who are affected by our existing trade relations.
04:23 China is taking raw materials from us, natural resources like nickel, which they are making into steel,
04:31 and our export of semiconductors, electrics and electronic components,
04:37 which they are using. They are using all of those.
04:39 Others are using ships and airplanes, which they are using against us.
04:45 We can stop those things.
04:49 We can stop them and look for other things to buy.
04:53 Of course, that will have an effect on us because we are buying consumer goods from them.
05:00 But we can source those goods from other countries.
05:03 There will be adjustments and there will be some pain.
05:08 But the point is, why should we be afraid of them?
05:11 If we need to ease some inconvenience, let's do it.
05:15 That's the way to show them that we will really defend our rights.
05:20 All right. Do you think there's a threat from China,
05:23 the support that the international community is spreading in the Philippines,
05:28 regarding the issue of the West Philippine Sea?
05:31 I think that's a big factor for them.
05:34 That's why they're not reporting us as a war, like what they did in Vietnam,
05:40 where they are really bombing and sinking ships.
05:42 They know that the Philippines is being supported by many countries.
05:48 They are looking for help from other countries, not just the U.S., but also the EU, Germany, Australia and Japan,
06:01 all other countries that have their own interests and relations.
06:05 I think they should be aware of that.
06:11 We should also look at what we can ask for help from them,
06:16 if China will take more severe action.
06:19 Attorney, in your opinion, do you think there will be a chance for China to give way
06:25 if the Philippines will continue its diplomatic approach on the issue of the West Philippine Sea?
06:31 I think at some point, if they see that they cannot change the stance of the Philippines,
06:38 that they cannot divide and conquer us,
06:42 they will change their mind and they need to change their approach and their attitude towards us.
06:48 That's why it's important that we do not waver in what we are doing,
06:57 because that's the only way to face China.
07:01 All right. Lastly, do you have a message for our countrymen?
07:08 Well, our message to our countrymen is that we need to be united.
07:15 This is a big challenge for the whole country.
07:21 It's not based on political parties or personalities.
07:26 This is China versus the Philippines as a country. That's why we should face them as a country.
07:33 Thank you very much for your time, Attorney Jay Batong Bacal, maritime law expert and director of the UP Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea.
07:44 You're welcome. You're welcome.