Palace ensures unified messaging on maritime issues

February 18 ------ Malacañang ensured a unified diplomatic messaging on maritime affairs following the appointment of a former naval and Coast Guard officer as the Department of Foreign Affairs' new spokesperson on maritime issues. "Iba-iba po kasi ang kanilang goal, iba-iba po ang kanilang pagiging spokesperson, iba-iba iyong kanilang topic. 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," Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro said in a briefing. "So, nagkakaisa naman po, aligned naman kung ano ang gusto ng Pangulo—firm pero diplomatic. So, hindi naman po nagkakaiba-iba," she added.

To recall, DFA deputy Assistant Secretary Rogelio Villanueva, a career diplomat, was officially named as the department's spokesperson on maritime affairs. Villanueva’s appointment came amid the ongoing word war between China’s diplomats and Filipino lawmakers and government officials. This included the Senate's Resolution 256, which condemned recent statements issued by the Chinese Embassy on Filipino officials who criticized Beijing’s aggressive actions in the West Philippine Sea. 

The Philippines, through the DFA, expressed alarm over the heated exchanges between Filipino officials and some senators and Chinese diplomats in Manila over the ongoing territorial rift in the strategically important South China Sea. In January, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Philippine Ambassador Jaime FlorCruz to protest statements by Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Commodore Jay Tarriela, who has openly criticized China's increasingly aggressive actions in waters. The DFA said it “made firm representations to the Chinese ambassador and the Chinese Embassy conveying serious concerns with the escalation of public exchanges.” While the DFA expressed support to Philippine officials, including some lawmakers, who have issued remarks in defense of the country’s sovereignty in the waters, the agency warned that the word war could “unnecessarily derail the diplomatic space needed to manage the tensions in the maritime domain."

Source: gmanetwork.com