Maritime expert: PH non-retaliatory stance on WPS row a smart move

MANILA: A maritime expert on Tuesday supported President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.'s stance rejecting the use of water cannons by Philippine vessels to retaliate against China's continued harassment in the disputed areas of the West Philippine Sea (WPS). In a radio interview, University of the Philippines Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea director Jay Batongbacal said a retaliatory move by the Philippines would only meet a harsher response from China. "Sa akin tama lang na alam natin na mas marami silang water cannon. Kahit gumanti ang isa nating water cannon, tatapatan nila ng apat o anim. Hindi ko nakikita kung saan 'yun patungo, other than makita na gumanti tayo (In my opinion, that is just right because China has a lot more water cannons that us, if we retaliate with one water cannon, they will counter with four or six. I don't see it getting anywhere except from just seeing us retaliate)," he said. Batongbacal reiterated that Philippine water cannons are used for extinguishing fires at s ea. He added that if Manila goes head-to-head with Beijing, it is likely a Philippine Coast Guard ship will sink, resulting in the loss of a maritime asset. He said it would only give China an excuse to justify a stronger response against Philippine vessels in the WPS. "Hindi tayo dapat magpahuli sa ganung patibong (We should not fall for that trap)," he added. He added that Manila's stance of maintaining restraint is the best move, as it continues to gain support from the international community. Asked to comment on the National Security Council's (NSC) theory that China is dumping crushed corals in the WPS to reverse the 2016 arbitral ruling, Batongbacal said it is likely that the Chinese are developing Sandy Cay to make it a "high tide elevation" to allow it to have a territorial sea. He said that this would result in Chinese artificial islands in Subi Reef, leading to a reduction in the territorial sea of Pagasa Island, which is under the Philippines' jurisdiction. "Hindi po nila kinikilala 'yung a rbitral ruling pero nakita natin, pinipilit nilang iprisinta sa mundo na kahit hindi nila kinikilala 'yun, ginagamit pa rin nila ang UNCLOS [United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea] (They do not recognize the arbitral ruling but as we see, they are trying to present it to the world that they are still using the UNCLOS even if they do not recognize it.) They are still trying to use UNCLOS to justify 'yung position nila kasi alam nila na di nila basta pwede ipilit ung gusto nila (their position because they know they cannot just insist whatever they want),' he said. 'Pinalalabas nila na sila 'yung compliant, tayo 'yung hindi (They make it appear that they are compliant and we are not)," Batongbacal added. Source: Philippines News Agency