Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana told the media Feb. 8 that the implementation of the Marine Police Act, which allows the Chinese Coast Guard Bureau to use weapons, has increased the risk of miscarriages of justice in the South China Sea.
Lorenzana told CNN Philippines, “I am very concerned about this law because it could cause miscarriages of justice and accidents there, especially now that they are allowed to fire on foreign vessels.” He said, “The Chinese coast guard is operating in the disputed area in the West Philippine Sea, which is part of the Philippines’ sovereignty claim in the South China Sea, where the Philippine Navy and coast guard also patrol.”
Lorenzana said, “The chances of an accident or a miscalculation are high, so I call on all the claimants there, the Chinese side, the Vietnamese side to be cautious and careful in enforcing their laws.” He said the Philippines will discuss with its allies, including the United States, and other claimants on how to handle the situation. He continued, “But the U.S. side will continue to patrol the area even without consulting us or other claimant countries.”
Lorenzana said, “I believe the Chinese side is also concerned about these patrols, just as the U.S. side is very concerned about the influence of the Chinese in the West Philippine Sea.” He noted that more countries outside the region, such as the United Kingdom, Australia and India, are also planning to patrol the disputed waters and conduct freedom of navigation operations. Lorenzana said the Philippine government will continue to engage with these third-party countries “to find ways to move forward.”
The Philippine government had filed a diplomatic protest against China’s new Maritime Police Act in January, arguing that it was “a verbal threat of war against any country that defies the law and that failure to challenge it would be a submission to the law.” The Chinese Embassy in Manila, however, scoffed at such expressions of concern, saying the new law is “part of China’s normal legislative activities” and does not target any country.
In addition, Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Tran said at a press conference on April 4 that “Vietnam demands that the countries concerned respect Vietnam’s sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction in the East Sea. She said, “Vietnam supports the maintenance of regional peace and stability, security, freedom of navigation and overflight and safety, and respects the principle of supremacy of law in all maritime areas, in line with the provisions of international law and the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.”
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