OPPOSITION party-list Akbayan on Friday called on the government to formulate and implement an “operational, actionable, and time-bound strategy to remove all illegal Chinese structures and installations within Philippine waters.”
In a statement, the party-list said the strategy should begin with the recently discovered floating Chinese structures in the Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal area.
“The government must demonstrate that it has both the resolve and the capacity to defend our maritime rights. Illegal Chinese structures should never be allowed to gain permanence in Philippine waters,” Akbayan president and Atin Ito co-convenor Rafaela David said.
She added that the government should put a plan that “goes beyond diplomatic protests and clearly outlines how the illegal Chinese structures will be challenged and removed.”
The Akbayan president said that the plan must have “specific measures, realistic timelines, and coordinated actions among relevant agencies” to ensure the removal of illegal structures and prevent new structures from being constructed in the country’s waters.
“Ten years after our historic Arbitral Award victory, China continues its militaristic expansion and coercive activities in the region.... The discovery of this latest structure should not merely prompt diplomatic protests. It should compel the government to develop and implement a clear, sustained, and proactive strategy to remove illegal Chinese structures and prevent further encroachments in Panatag Shoal and throughout the West Philippine Sea,” David said.
She also said that four civilian-led supply missions have been sent to the West Philippine Sea, warning that Beijing’s activities follows a familiar pattern.
“We have seen this playbook before. It begins with a single structure, followed by additional installations, reclamation activities, and eventually a permanent presence that the world is expected to accept as a fait accompli. We cannot afford to allow the same scenario to unfold in Panatag Shoal,” she said.
Philippine authorities discovered on June 10 the floating structure equipped with an antenna at the Shoal.
