MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte told Chinese President Xi Jinping that Chinese military and survey ships passing the Philippine waters must follow the country’s rules.
Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said Duterte expressed his concern to Xi over the unauthorized movement of Chinese ships in the past few months.
“In the past few months our authorities have sighted various Chinese military and survey vessels entering and navigating through our waters. This is of deep concern for us,” Duterte said.
“We wish to avoid untoward incidents, misunderstanding… I would like all vessels entering our domain to fully comply with the law, keeping radio communication channels open and active and acknowledging our attempts at contacts are crucial,” he added.
“Otherwise, such activities run counter to our efforts at managing the South China Sea issue,” Duterte said.
Panelo said the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea recognized the right to exercise innocent passage or a “continuous and expeditious passage while refraining from actions specifically prohibited by law.”
“In other words, he doesn’t want that repeated again and precisely, I think that’s why the President of China made a statement of ‘we should observe self-restraint and avoid acts that will provoke either side,’” Panelo added.
The Philippine military recently said Chinese warships turned off their automatic identification system while passing through Sibutu Strait in Tawi-Tawi, an action that was described as “deception” and a “violation of the rule of law.”
After the reported intrusions of Chinese warships, Malacañang said on Aug. 20 the Philippines would drive away foreign vessels passing through its territorial waters without permission./PN
