DFA, PH Coast Guard remain ‘firm but diplomatic’ on West PH Sea - Palace

MANILA, February 18 ------ The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) remain “aligned” on matters in the West Philippine Sea despite having different spokespersons, Malacañang said.

The statement comes after the DFA named Rogelio Villanueva as its new spokesperson for Maritime Affairs, while the PCG continues to have Commodore Jay Tarriela as its spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea. “Iba-iba po kasi ang kanilang goal, iba-iba po ang kanilang pagiging spokesperson, iba-iba iyong kanilang topic,” Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro tols Palace reporters. “Pagdating po sa DFA, it’s more on the policy. Pagdating po, let’s say, sa Philippine Coast Guard, sa operations sila so magkaiba po kasi ang magiging mensahe ng Philippine Coast Guard as compared sa DFA, Nagkakaisa naman po, aligned naman kung ano ang gusto ng Pangulo – firm pero diplomatic, so hindi naman po nagkakaiba-iba,” she added.

Talk about the Philippines friction with Asia’s largest economy reignited in recent weeks after several opposition senators said that the country should just “give up” its assertions against China in the West Philippine Sea despite a 2016 arbitral ruling that invalidated Beijing’s sweeping claim in the resource-rich area. “Kung anuman pong nangyayaring mainit na debate sa Senado, hindi nga po iyan sakop ng Pangulo pero kapag po executive department ang pinag-uusapan, iisa lang po ang stance natin,” Castro said. “Of course, being a Filipino, we should always be a pro-Philippines at alam nila at batid nila kung ano ang stance ng Pangulo: Walang anumang bahagi ng Pilipinas ang dapat mai-surrender sa anumang foreign power, So, doon naman po talaga lahat tayo lumilinya.” she added.

The new spokesperson was appointed weeks after several Chinese embassy officials drew flak from Filipino lawmakers over their statements that continued to assert their right to parts of the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone. The Philippines is looking to finalize the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea this year as it hosts the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit. The CoC, which has been pending for decades, is envisioned to facilitate disputes in the South China Sea where several Asian countries have overlapping claims.

Source: news.abs-cbn.com