Statement from the Office of Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda: On the denial-of-service attack on PCDSPO-maintained websites At around four o’clock in the afternoon of April…
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Category: Foreign Affairs
“Kung may isang daan na fishing boats ang magrally doon sa bukana ng Scarborough shoal, tingnan natin kung anong gagawin ng China. Pagbabarilin ba nila yun? “ sabi ni Robles.
Kapag ginawa ng China yun, tutuligsain sila sa buong mundo, isang bagay na hindi nila gusto.
There are two positive things that resulted in the ongoing standoff in the Scarborough Shoal.
One is the decision of President Aquino recall the appointment of family friend Domingo Lee as ambassador to China and two, the raising of the conflicting territorial claims to the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea has been accelerated.
With the withdrawal of Lee’s appointment, the next question is, who will Aquino send to fill the long-vacant post in Beijing?
Three names have been mentioned.
Basilio’s calm demeanor masks a certain toughness that is needed in dealing with a bully like China. Basilio is a veteran in diplomatic pressures. She is not easily intimidated.
Also a career officer,Cruz served as consul general in the Philippine Consulate General in Guangzhou, which he opened in 1997.
Cruz has the gift of “speaking his truth quietly and clearly” which is important in dealing with a pugnacious adversary.
Another name being floated is Chito Sta. Romana, former American Broadcasting Company news bureau in Beijing. He has retired from ABC and is now based in the Philippines.
The Department of Foreign Affairs yesterday released his statement saying,” In pursuing a peaceful settlement of the Scarborough Shoal issue, we fully intend to humbly invite our Chinese friends to join us in the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS).”
ITLOS was established to adjudicate conflict over the interpretation and implementation of the United Nations Convention of the Law which defines the rights and responsibilities of nations in their use of the world’s oceans.
Del Rosario said, “The purpose of the exercise will be to ascertain which of us has sovereign rights over the waters surrounding Scarborough Shoal where Chinese ships are currently engaging in illegal activities within the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). “
Update on Scarborough shoal:
Statement of Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario April 14, 2012, 6:50 pm.:
“As I said earlier, my meeting with Amb. Ma last night resulted in a stalemate. Notwithstanding, Amb. Ma has asked if we could commit to no surprises until we meet again to which I agreed.
“However, today, we received reports that the Philippine Coast Guard that 1) China sent back one of its white ships bringing the number of Chinese ships in the area back to two;2) A white Chinese aircraft with blue stripe was also sighted conducting flybys near Philippine Coast Guard vessel; and 3) A white Chinese ship harassed a Philippine-registered vessel with 9 French nationals which has been conducting archaelogical surveys.
“It appears there is an element that is lacking in our negotiations. I seek a deeper element of trust from our Chinese friends.”
The latest incident in Scarborough shoal reminds us of the issue of the non-inclusion of the sandbar, also known as Panatag , in the country’s baseline which was one of the points of conflict between the Department of Foreign Affairs and Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV in 2008. Trillanes was then in detention
In last Monday’s commemoration of Bataan day, Japanese Ambassador Toshinao Urabe once again expressed his country’s “heartfelt apologies and deep sense of remorse of the tragedy” that occurred 70 years ago.
It’s good that we commemorate what happened on April 9, 1942 so the younger generation would be told what our forefathers sacrificed for us to enjoy the freedom that we have today.
Time heals wounds but it is something to be concerned about when history is revised and mistakes are justified.The book “Under the Stacks” by Saul Hofileña, Jr. tackled a number of those historical distortions.
There is a chapter “The Yasukuni Shrine and the Japanese War Monuments in the Philippines” where he talked about his visit to the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo which pays homage to the millions of Japanese war dead.
Hofileña said, “In the Yasukuni Shrine, the spirits of Japan’s war dead are enshrined as deities. They are their country’s guardians. The guardians or protectors of the Japanese nation who sacrificied their lives for their country.”
Hofileña said 11 of the enshrined heroes have been classified by the International War Crimes Tribunal as Class “A” war criminals. They include Hideki Tojo, Tomoyuki Yamashita, and Masaharu Homma.
The quote for this week should be: “It’s not within my competence.”
That was what Supreme Court Clerk of Court Enriquita Vidal told the Senate-turned-impeachment court when she was still in a dilemma whether to comply with the trial court’s order to produce the Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Networth of Chief Justice Renato Corona.
A variation of it, “It’s not within the competence of the witness,” was former Associate Justice Serafin Cuevas’ constant protest when prosecution lawyers would ask records custodians-witnesses to comment on the veracity of the contents of the documents that they were merely told to bring to the impeachment court.
Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda also said, “It is not within my competence.”
There is no truth to the malicious talk that Malacañang ordered the Department of Foreign Affairs to work hard for Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago election to the International Criminal Court because they are worried that she would block the conviction of Chief Justice Renato Corona who was impeached by the House of Representatives last Monday.
Santiago was elected Tuesday as judge in the International Criminal Court, the female judge from a developing Asian country to hold a seat in that international body.
“I will be the first Filipino to sit there. Plus, I will be the first Asian from a developing country. So this is an honor for the Philippines actually and for President Aquino who nominated me,” Santiago said in an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel.
“I will be the first Filipino to sit there. Plus, I will be the first Asian from a developing country. So this is an honor for the Philippines actually and for President Aquino who nominated me,” Santiago said in an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel.
Santiago won as judge in the ICC elections during the 10th session of the Assembly of States Parties in New York on Monday (US time).
“It’s really an achievement of our people there in the UN. It’s really our Department of Foreign Affairs that needs to be congratulated,” she said.
She topped the first round with 79 out of 104 votes, making her the first to be elected out of 18 candidates vying for 6 seats in the ICC Judicial Division.
It doesn’t matter at all if Domingo Lee was not familiar with the terms “hard power” and “soft power” and other common terms in diplomacy during the Commission on Appointments deliberation on his appointment as ambassador to the People’s Republic of China.
He will be the Filipino people’s representative to China because President Aquino wants it.
The 77-year old Lee is the childhood friend of the President’s father, the late Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr.
In a lunch meeting with Lee last Monday, he related how he got to be chosen as ambassador to China after the disastrous stint of former Ambassador Francisco Benedicto, Gloria Arroyo’s appointee but was retained by Aquino upon the recommendation by former Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo.