China declared yesterday 07 February (2013) that its law enforcement vessels will conduct daily fishery administrative patrols in the South China Sea/West Philippine sea in 2014 "to better safeguard the legitimate interests of domestic fishermen."
If the Philippine Government and its qualified maritime waters protection agencies do not move quick enough, the country -- and its fishermen, may just lose its economic access to and its rights in its 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone for good. China's declaration actually followed an earlier 'call to arms' by Qi Jianguo (shown) who said, "China's core national interests cannot be damaged" which was published by China Military On Line at 09:02, February 05, 2013.
"Qi Jianguo, deputy chief of general staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), made a speech when he took part in the discussion on the issue of strengthening maritime struggle and maritime security cooperation, which was jointly held by the General Staff Headquarters (GSH) of the PLA and the related state organs, on the afternoon of February 4, 2013.
"He stressed in his speech that any countries cannot underestimate the Chinese nation's strong will of safeguarding its state sovereignty, cannot underestimate Chinese government's firm determination of safeguarding its territorial integrity and cannot underestimate Chinese military's staunch power of safeguarding the core national interests."
Seen from where we sit, such speech can be qualified as more than just a hawkish grandstanding by China PLA to be heard by the United States, Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines, among others. And now, this pronouncement with an ultra-nationalist undertone by Wu Zhuang, chief of the South China Sea Fishery Bureau, Ministry of Agriculture, who said on behalf of the government of China: "...you, subordinated to the needs of the country, stand fast at your posts in the motherland's southern frontier and strive valiantly to safeguard state sovereignty and the legitimate interests of domestic fishermen."
With those words, China has all but officially declared the South China Sea off limits to Philippine fishermen. Already, with China's hijacking of the Philippines' Scarborough Shoal and the Philippine Navy's 'withdrawal' from the scene of 'battle' for Inang Bayan, Filipino fishermen, in a recent interview with USA Today said that they have become frightened to venture in the Philippine EEZ which, per UNCLOS, gives the Philippines exclusive rights to exploit.
Unpredictable yet predictable China which has repeatedly said that they will abide by the 2002 Declaration on Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea has also repeatedly violated the first two key points of that agreement:
HEREBY DECLARE the following: 1. The Parties reaffirm their commitment to the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, and other universally recognized principles of international law which shall serve as the basic norms governing state-to-state relations; 2. The Parties are committed to exploring ways for building trust and confidence in accordance with the above-mentioned principles and on the basis of equality and mutual respect;
Under the disguise of "law enforcement to safeguard the legitimate interests of domestic fishermen," this latest declaration by China is actually a veiled threat aimed at giving the United States and its allies in the region something to think about.
This latest China decision leads us to believe that it is a de facto declaration of a potential blockade in 2014, i.e., that China is seriously intending to cordon off the South China Sea/West Philippine Sea to any kind of maneuvers, whether military or commercial, i.e., oil exploration or surveillance, fishing, etc., by its neighbours, Philippines, Vietnam and even Japan.
According to the news, today, there are some China 400 fishing vessels operating in the South China Sea which means that if we take the words of Captain Yang Jia'en who heads the China Yuzheng 302 seriously, for every 3 or 4 fishing vessels roaming around in West Philippine Sea, China intends to put one of their warships at the very least for protection of some kind. It is safe to say that if they say what they do, there will be at least 100 warships roaming around the South China Sea/West Philippine Sea.
That kind of fighting flotilla will transform the South China Sea/West Philippine Sea into a virtual 'naval war zone.' And remember their January news: China to build 36 Coast Guard/Marine Law Enforcement ships within the next 5 years announces Communist Party of China website.
It is not enough to question the China's 9-dash line before the UN Court. If the Philippines does not move fast to protect its own territorial waters, which it can do by sending patrol ships, even just to show face, chances are that Filipinos will lose the right to even drop a simple fishing line in the West Philippine Sea. This government must react quickly. This government cannot continue to hoodwink Filipinos into believing that our Navy and our Coast Guard do not have the wherewithal to do it. We have enough assets to do patrol duties. To say otherwise would be a lie.
To lose a shoal is one thing but to lose the nation's entire territorial waters in West Philippine Sea because of fear of China ships will be a crime against the Filipino nation.
For more on the news on CHINA EXCLUSIVE, click here to Xinhua news.
Shown in picture: People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) flotilla led by their latest LPD 998 Kunlunshan amphibious landing dock vessel, escorted by the guided missile destroyer DDG 170 Lanzhou and Type 054 guided missile frigate FFG 568 Chaohu. The support ship is AO 885 Qinghaihu, an ex-Russian Komandarm class oiler. Photo: PLAN
~~ By Anne de Bretagne
08 February 2013
For the Defenders of the Philippine Sabah & Spratly Claims
~~ By Anne de Bretagne
08 February 2013
For the Defenders of the Philippine Sabah & Spratly Claims
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