The Chinese Communist Party recently passed a maritime police law that authorizes the use of weapons by the maritime police in “waters under Chinese jurisdiction”. The Philippine Presidency said that the use of force is generally prohibited by international law and hopes that no country will do anything to aggravate the situation in the West Philippine Sea.
The West Philippine Sea is the part of the South China Sea over which the Philippines claims sovereignty and is roughly within the Philippines’ 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone.
The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China passed the “Law of the People’s Republic of China on Coastal Police” on 22 February. The law authorizes marine police units to use weapons if a foreign vessel enters the waters under China’s jurisdiction and “illegally engages in production operations, disobeys instructions to stop the vessel or refuses to be boarded and inspected by Chinese marine police,” after warnings are ineffective.
In response, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said at a press conference at the Philippine presidential palace today that under general international law, “the use of force is generally prohibited” except when armed forces enter Chinese territory and China can take necessary and proportionate self-defense actions, and when authorized by the United Nations Security Council.
He said he hoped that countries involved in the West Philippine Sea issue would not do anything to worsen the situation in the West Philippine Sea.
The Philippines’ President Rodrigo Duterte wants a code of conduct in the South China Sea to be finalized as soon as possible, and all claimants in the West Philippine Sea should abide by it, Roque said.
The Philippines and China have a sovereignty dispute in the South China Sea. The waters around Huangyan Island (Scarborough Shoal) and Huayang Reef (Cuarteron), Yongshun Reef (Fiery Cross), Nanxuan Reef (Gaven), Dongmen Reef (Hughes), Chigua Reef (Johnson South), Mischief Reef (Mischief), Zhubi Reef (Subi The islands and reefs of the Spratly Islands, such as Fiery Cross, Gaven, Hughes, Johnson South, Mischief, and Subi, are all within the exclusive economic waters claimed by the Philippines.
Recent Comments