Banta ng China na Pinoy hulihin sa WPS kinondena

ni Gerry Baldo

MARIING kinondena ng grupong makabayan ang banta ng komunistang Tsina na hulihin ang mga Pinoy at iba pang lahi sa West Philippine Sea (WPS).

Ayon kay House Deputy Minority Leader at ACT Teachers Partylist Rep. France Castro, ilegal ang binabalak ng Tsina at wala itong karapatang ipatupad ang ganitong regulasyon sa mga pinagtatalunang lugar sa karagatan ng WPS partikular sa loob ng teritorya ng Filipinas.

“This is highly condemnable and is not even legal. China has no right to impose such a regulation. If any country has a right to arrest foreigners, it is the Philippines. China is the one trespassing in our territorial waters and our exclusive economic zone, and now it has the gall to say that they would arrest non-Chinese in our waters,” ani Castro.

“With this action, China is further escalating the tension in the West Philippine Sea, but we must also be wary that such a move would not be used by the US and their allies to further militarize the area,” dagdag ni Castro.

“The Philippines should expedite filing a case against China again in the Permanent Court of Arbitration and the United Nations. The international community, especially the ASEAN, should also speak up against China’s blatant disregard of Philippine sovereignty, the 2016 arbitral ruling and the UNCLOS,” giit niya.

Sa panig ni Bayan Muna chairman Neri Colmenares maaring gawin ito ng Tsina sa loob ng teritorya nila pero hindi sa WPS lalo sa lugar na sakop ng Exclusive Economic Zone ng Filipinas.

“We warn China to stand down as this escalates tension and could lead to open conflict if China arrests Filipinos,” ani Colmenares.

Nanawagan si  Colmenares sa mga miyembro ng Association of Southest Asian Nations (ASEAN) na ihabla ang Tsina sa United Nations sa pamamagitan ng joint resolution na makialam na sa alitan sa South China Sea.

Ani Colmenares, kailangan manawagan ang ASEAN na i-demilitarize ang SCS at tangalin ang lahat ng base militar sa karagatan ng SCS pati na ang sa Filipinas, Vietnam, at Tsina.

 “We urge Asean countries being bullied by china like Vietnam and Malaysia to file together with the Philippines, a multi-pronged case vs China in the international arbitral tribunal to stop China’s growing belligerence in the region,” ani Colmenares.