MANILA, Philippines — Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. on Monday said officials who still continue to push for a joint exploration between the Philippines and China must “wake up” that such propaganda is only Beijing’s means to make a way into the Philippines.
“Magising-gising na rin sila. Magising na sila na yung joint exploration na yan normally pain lang yan para makapasok ang tsina dito. Ang temporary benefits hindi ito pwedeng isubstitude sa long benefits ng Pilipinas kasi itong mga local official na ito,” Teodoro told reporters in an interview at Camp Aguinaldo.
(They should wake up and realize that this so-called joint exploration is usually just a way for China to gain entry here. Temporary benefits cannot be substituted for the Philippines' long-term interests. That's what these local officials need to understand.)
“Kailangan isipin din nila na pinaglalaban natin ‘to pag hindi natin desisyunan at harapin ang mga suliranin laban sa Tsina ngayon kasi may claim sila sa ating teritoryo, may responsibilidad ba na pabayaan mo ang future na generation na sumagot nito, ngayon na may obligation tayo na sagutin ito ngayon,”
("They also need to consider that this is something we are fighting for. If we fail to make decisions and confront the issues involving China now, given its claims over our territory, is it responsible to leave this problem for future generations to deal with? We have an obligation to address it now.)
Several lawmakers from various political inclinations have voiced openness to a joint oil and gas by Manila and Beijing in the West Philippine Sea, seeing it as a possible way to gain economic benefits while managing tensions over overlapping maritime claims.
Just recently, Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Jing Quan proposed to the Department of Foreign Affairs that Manila and Beijing share a common fishing ground in Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal) to help ease growing maritime tensions.
These proposals however were strongly opposed by staunch West Philippine Sea defenders arguing that such agreement would violate Philippine sovereignty, risk resource ownership and a trampling on the 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Award if Beijing would continue disregarding it.
Teodoro recalled past proofs of how non-trustworthy China is at the negotiating table.
“Hindi mo maitatabi ito e itong issue na ito e, proven na yan e no 1995 pa lang bago yun I mean, nung mischief reef proven na yan e. Ngayon na alam na natin, gising na tayo sa pakay ng tsina ililibing muna naman yung issue, ano mangyayari sa kinabukasan ng bansa na ito?” Teodoro said.
(You cannot just set this issue aside. This has already been proven — as early as 1995, even before that, with Mischief Reef, it was already proven. Now that we know, now that we are awake to China’s intentions, are we just going to bury the issue again? What will happen to the future of this country?)
