SAN FRANCISCO – Loida Nicolas Lewis, national chair of the US Pinoys for Good Governance (USP4GG), today called on Filipinos throughout the world to organize rallies and demonstrations in front of China’s embassies and consulates throughout the world on May 11 to protest China’s recent aggressive encroachments on the Philippines’ Scarborough Shoal.
The territorial dispute over the Scarborough Shoal, which China calls the "Huangyan Island" (located more than 500 nautical miles from the nearest China port of Hainan), and which the Philippines refers to as the "Panatag Shoal", located 137 nautical miles from Zambales province, has escalated in recent months following these developments:
·Chinese navy ships recently confronted the Philippine navy vessel, BRP Gregorio del Pilar, which sought to apprehend Chinese boats illegally fishing in the area. The Chinese fishing boats were found to contain corals, rare fish and live baby sharks, which are considered illegal cargo under Philippine law.
·Chinese navy ships have fired on and harassed unarmed Philippine fishing boats and exploration vessels, forcing them to withdraw.
·Chinese navy ships have dropped steel posts and navigation buoys with Chinese markings in the waters around Scarborough Shoal.
In its April 25 editorial, the Global Times, published by China’s official People’s Daily, announced that China is prepared to engage in a small-scale war at sea with the Philippines: “China should select the most arrogant provocateur, conduct comprehensive strikes, and exert pressure economically, politically and militarily. If the water overwhelms China's knees, other countries will find their necks in the water.”
Why is China willing to go to war over the shoal?
Philippine blogger Raissa Robles explained that acquisition and control of the disputed shoal would have "far reaching consequences". For example, she wrote, "itwould mean China would control the surrounding seas radiating 12 miles around the Shoal and this is within the Philippines’ 200 mile Exclusive Economic Zone under the UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas) It would mean that Filipino fishermen who wander into this 12-mile radius could be harassed, their catch confiscated, and even arrested.."
"It is also an international navigational waterway... Approximately 300 ships pass in the vicinity of the reef daily. Japan uses this route to transport 80% of its petroleum from the Middle East, and therefore regards this waterway as its lifeline," Robles added.
To diffuse the threat of war, Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Albert Del Rosario proposed that the two countries bring their territorial dispute to the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) but this proposal was immediately rejected by China which has rejected any mediation by third parties.
In an interview in Balitang America on The Filipino Channel in Redwood City on April 24, Lewis, who was joined by USP4GG president Rodel Rodis, and USP4GG spokesman Ted Laguatan, called on the Global Filipino Diaspora Council (GFDC), representing 12 million Filipinos in 220 countries throughout the world, to support the Philippines’ sovereign claim to the Scarborough Shoal which has been in Philippine maps since 1743.
“A strong showing of support and solidarity by Filipinos in the Diaspora will impress on China that it is not just confronting a small country that it can easily bully, but one that has influential citizens scattered throughout the world who can mobilize and galvanize public opinion against China,” Rodis said.
Laguatan added: “We are calling on all Filipinos and all those who believe in freedom and the right of every country to control its own destiny to join us in a global demonstration at Chinese embassies and consulates in the United States and around the world at 12 noon on Friday, May 11.”
[For more information, log on to usp4gg.org or epeoplepower.ph or email Rodel Rodis at Rodel50@gmail.com or mail him at 2429 Ocean Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94127 or call ].
No comments:
Post a Comment