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Mla slams Beijing’s expanded SCS claim
The Department of Foreign Affairs has strongly protested China’s inclusion of the entire West Philippine Sea in the newest version of its standard map, calling it “unacceptable.” Manila, through the DFA, made this very clear to Beijing on Thursday as it rejected China’s map that depicts its new “10-dash line” claim to the entire South China Sea, including maritime zones of the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam and Indonesia. The map was issued by China’s Ministry of Natural Resources on 28 August, drawing protests from Malaysia and India (see related story). “This latest attempt to legitimize China’s purported sovereignty and jurisdiction over Philippine features and maritime zones has no basis under international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,” the DFA said. The DFA reiterated to China that a 2016 international arbitral ruling invalidated its “nine-dash line” claim in the South China Sea and affirmed the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone in the West Philippine Sea. This was in reference to the final judgment rendered by the Permanent Court of Arbitration on 12 July 2016. “It (decision) categorically stated that ‘maritime areas of the South China Sea encompassed by the relevant parts of the nine-dash line are contrary to the Convention and without lawful effect to the extent that they exceed the geographic and substantive limits of China’s maritime entitlements under the Convention,’” the statement said. “The Philippines, therefore, calls on China to act responsibly and abide by its obligations under UNCLOS and the final and binding 2016 Arbitral Award,” the DFA added. China claims nearly the entire South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea, but has not recognized the arbitral ruling. Neither did Beijing participate in the court’s proceedings. During a Malacañang press briefing, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Daniel Espiritu confirmed Manila had filed a diplomatic protest with Beijing regarding the issue. Beijing’s revised map features a sequence of 10 dashes arranged in a U-shape, encompassing not only parts of the Philippines but of self-ruled Taiwan as well as parts of the exclusive economic zones of Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam and Indonesia. “Suffice it to say that we have already expressed our opposition to that matter,” Espiritu told Palace reporters. “We are definitely against it, we reject it, and we continue to advocate for a peaceful resolution of disputes in that aspect,” he added. Asked how this would affect the Philippine position when Marcos meets with his Southeast Asian and Chinese counterparts during the upcoming Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit, Espiritu said the leaders would not complete their discussions on the matter in just one, two, or three meetings. “Progress has been made. We also expressed our profound satisfaction with recent developments in the South China Sea, particularly on the issue of the water cannoning,” Espiritu said. “We emphasized that these actions must be avoided, as they erode trust, escalate tensions in the South China Sea, and destabilize the peace and stability in the region,” Espiritu added. China’s defense For its part, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs defended the map, saying it is “in accordance with the law.” “On 28 August, the Ministry of Natural Resources of China released the 2023 edition of the standard map. It is a routine practice in China’s exercise of sovereignty in accordance with the law,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said. Wang called on the countries affected by the new map to “stay objective and calm, and refrain from over-interpreting the issue.” Four of the 10 members of ASEAN are primary claimants to the resource-rich South China Sea — Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines. Final and binding In reaction, National Security Adviser Eduardo Año said the Philippines does not recognize China’s nine-dash line claim, more so its expanded 10-dash line. “The arbitral award is final and binding,” Año said. “It gives us our maritime entitlement, our extended economic zone, our territorial waters, and our extended continental shelf.” The Philippines, he said, is not alone in its rejection of the 10-dash line. India and Malaysia have also expressed their opposition to the new map. “There would be more countries, I think, to react adversely against this 10-dash line,” Año said. “Our Armed Forces, our uniformed services, our government will do everything in their capacities to ensure that we are protecting our national interest.” President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., meanwhile, will push for a rules-based international order and for parties to follow the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea during the upcoming 43rd Asean Summit next month, DFA Undersecretary Espiritu said on Thursday. “The Philippines will continue to uphold and exercise freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea in accordance with international law,” Espiritu added. He said Marcos is expected to have one-on-one meetings with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, and Timor Leste Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão. “With Vietnam, the focus will be on strengthening the strategic partnership between the two countries and, of course, cooperation on rice and food security,” he said. ‘Cancel China projects’ With Beijing’s unrelenting expansion into the SCS, Infrawatch PH convenor Terry Ridon said the government should reconsider existing and upcoming China-assisted infrastructure projects. “Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri had earlier suggested a boycott of all Chinese companies and products, including the Chinese Communication Construction Company, to protest Beijing’s continued incursion into our territory,” Ridon said. “Why not push that call up a notch and call on the Marcos administration to cancel all China-assisted infrastructure projects in the pipeline?” he added. There are presently six major infrastructure projects financed with Chinese loans, the biggest of which is the PNR South Long Haul Project, a 380-kilometer railway that will link Calamba in Laguna and Legazpi in Albay. The project, which started in 2016 and is set to be completed in 2024, has a total price tag of P175.3 billion. The post Mla slams Beijing’s expanded SCS claim appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
An inane idea
The conflict in the disputed waters in the West Philippine Sea has birthed unnecessary and unpalatable narratives plus inane proposals to dramatize the country’s condemnation of the provocative and aggressive navigational acts coming from some government functionaries, apart from escalating the tension between claimants China and the Philippines. The repeated infuriating bullying by the Chinese Coast Guard on our own Philippine Coast Guard and Philippine vessels has been relentless. China has been oblivious to our countless diplomatic protests and calls for it to stop its incursions on our territorial waters, respect our sovereign rights and accept the arbitrary ruling handed by the Permanent Arbitration Court. It has turned deaf ears to our protestations. It has been unmoved by the collective expression of condemnation of its acts of aggression against the Philippines from countries consisting of the European Union, Japan, Australia Canada, and the United States. Not even the threat by the latter to use counter-offensive and defensive measures by way of enforcing the Mutual Defense Treaty between it and our country could soften China’s provocative and aggressive stance. It stubbornly refuses to recognize the arbitral ruling of the Permanent Arbitration Court that has rejected its nine-dash expansionist claim over a large part of the South China Sea while validating the Philippines’ claim over Ayungin Shoal as within its exclusive economic zone. China’s emergence from an underdeveloped and weak country to a superpower like the United States and Russia made it easy for it to adopt the maxim that might is right. Truly, from a sleeping giant, it has become a mighty dragon spewing fire. China’s unacceptable and outrageous assaults on our territorial waters, which must be stopped, is, however, not an excuse to call for a boycott of its products. It’s a stupid idea. The proponents have not considered the repercussions if we enforce such an inane thought. We cannot be hostage to that vexing conflict with China and throw to the winds the benefits derived from our trade relations with it. China, being the largest supplier of manufactured goods, is known as the “ world’s factory.“ Every imaginable household use, clothes, shoes, textiles, construction materials, kitchen and toilet fixtures, beauty equipment, electronic gadgets, toys, outdoor and interior decors, tiles, air conditioning units, electric fans, engineered floors, kitchen utensils, heavy machinery and equipment, engineered wood floors, and a thousand other items. Compared to US and European-made, Chinese-manufactured goods are much cheaper. No wonder, they are much preferred now by the average Filipino because of the affordable prices of these products. Quality-wise, they can give Western merchandise a run for their money. A government policy of boycotting goods coming from China will deprive millions of ordinary Filipinos to have them. This is an anti-poor program. The propagates of this boycott idea seem to be either ignorant or oblivious to the fact that China is the biggest trade partner of the Philippines. Philippines exports to China have reached a whopping $10.97 billion in 2022 while imports from China rose to $28.2 billion per the latest data. If we enforce a boycott policy of Chinese products, those figures will be jeopardized. Do those propagators of such foolish advocacy realize the monstrosity of that monumentally folly? (To be continued) The post An inane idea appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Boy Kuting
Senate President Migz Zubiri has shouted “boykotin ang Chinese products” to show Filipinos’ disgust over the Chinese Coast Guard’s water cannonading of our vessels resupplying the grounded BRP Sierra Madre on Ayungin Shoal recently. On cue, Senator Risa Hontiveros echoed the call in a Tweet, although her post carried the ironic line, “Sent from my iPhone 14,” a device that is wholly made in China. That is exactly the problem with this course of action: The use of Chinese products is well-nigh inescapable. And while it is right for every patriotic Filipino to exhibit outrage over this latest show of Chinese bullying, there must be some way to show our reproach other than calling for something that is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to execute, lest we be again mortified by our lack of capability. Let’s start with cars. It would be easy enough not to buy a Foton, JAC, GAC or MG automobile, as a lot of us consider them — fairly or not — as inferior to other makes. But if you buy one of the lower-end Toyotas, you must know that a great number of its components are made in China, through a tie-up with FAW. The same goes for Nissans and Hondas, especially when it comes to electronics and drive train components. Okay, so the well-heeled snobs among you will say, “To hell with the Asian carmakers, I’m going European!” Fine, except that Mercedes Benz is 15 percent outrightly owned by two Chinese companies, BYD (10 percent) and SAIC (5 percent). More than half of the components of BMW cars are made by the companies Power Xinchen and Beijing Shougang. Wanna make a wild guess as to the nationalities of these companies. As for Audi, a lot of them are made in the cities of Changchun and Foshan in… where else? This is because China is Audi’s biggest market, not Europe or North America. As for some Volkswagen models, many are totally made in China, so you can forget about that, too. Hitler, that ultimate racist and white supremacist, who designed the Volkswagen Beetle, would be turning in his grave (if he had one). Go electric, go Tesla, you might say, as it’s owned by that all-American Elon Musk. But almost all of Tesla’s batteries are made in China, so no cigar. Gadgets are also out of the equation. 95 percent of iPhones are made in China (with some made in India, but sometimes they don’t arrive). My Oppo Reno is made in China, and so are Huaweis. Even the legacy Nordic brand Nokia is made in China. You’d be better off with Samsung, which makes many of its phones in Vietnam, but not much. The Vietnamese have built structures in the disputed Spratly Islands. Clothing is also not a good category for boycotting. Skechers is an American brand, but its shoes are all Chinese. Rivals Adidas and Puma are in the same boat. Fans of Japan’s Uniqlo must know that they’re basically wearing Chinese-made clothes. The Amboys who prefer Guess are doing the same thing. Even luxury clothing brand Ralph Lauren has its products made by the same people who insist on the nine-dash line. I could go on and on, but I know, dear readers, that you get my drift. Our politicians, of course, thrive on grandstanding. But before they stand in the halls of the Senate before a podium made of Chinese wood laminate, to fulminate for a boycott of Chinese products into a microphone of Chinese manufacture, their irate voices amplified by electronics assembled by a Chinese company, so that their histrionics may be read on Chinese-made tablets and phones, they should remember that most of what we use is made in China. It is one of the tigers of the world economy; we are just a kitten and all our rantings just the meowing of a small “kuting, a boy kuting.” The post Boy Kuting appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Blackpink Vietnam concert organiser apologises over S. China Sea map
The organizer of a Blackpink concert in Hanoi has apologized after its website featured a map showing China's territorial claims in the South China Sea, prompting a backlash on social media. K-pop megastar girl group Blackpink is due to host two concerts in the Vietnamese capital in late July. News of the performance has generated a huge amount of excitement in the city, which rarely hosts big-name international artists. But early this week, reports surfaced on social media saying iME, an event and entertainment company headquartered in Beijing, used a map on the front page of its website featuring the "nine-dash line". China has long used the line to illustrate its expansive claims over most of the resource-rich South China Sea, often to the displeasure of Hanoi, which also claims parts of the waterway. Some Facebook and TikTok users demanded a boycott of the concerts. On the Blackpink Vietnam FC (fan club) Facebook page, one comment read: "In support of Vietnam, we'd better... not attend entertainment shows organized by iME." Another read: "This concerns the territorial claim of a country. Although I like Blackpink, we should raise our voice." On Thursday, a day before tickets were due to go on sale, Brian Chow, CEO of iME, said in a statement that the incident was an "unfortunate misunderstanding". "The image of the map on the website does not represent the territory of any country and we are aware of respecting the sovereignty and culture of all the countries" where iME has a presence. "IME quickly reviewed and committed to replace the images that are not suitable for Vietnamese," the statement added. It also said it had sent a written explanation of the incident to the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports and other relevant authorities. The apology came after Vietnam's Ministry of culture and Information said Wednesday it was starting "procedures to look into the incident". During a regular press briefing on Thursday, ministry of foreign affairs spokesperson Pham Thu Hang admitted Blackpink's Vietnam show had become a "hot-button issue". Earlier this week, Vietnam authorities said they had banned the upcoming "Barbie" movie from cinemas over scenes showing the same map. "The promotion and usage of products or publications featuring the 'nine-dash line' in Vietnam is a violation of Vietnam's laws and is unacceptable," Hang said. The South China Sea is home to valuable oil and gas deposits and shipping lanes, and several of China's neighbours have voiced concern that Beijing is seeking to expand its reach. The post Blackpink Vietnam concert organiser apologises over S. China Sea map appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
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