A group of retired generals and admirals urged the Rodrigo Duterte administration yesterday to employ “more assertive” methods in protecting the country’s rights over the disputed West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).
In a news conference in San Juan, retired major general Ramon Farolan, a former commanding general of the Philippine Air Force, said the group wanted a peaceful resolution to the dispute with Beijing.
But the government should assert and maintain national sovereignty and rights over the disputed waters. “Perhaps, a more assertive method can be applied here,” Farolan told reporters. “It’s not a question of being satisfied (with the government’s response) but it’s a question of making sure that our rights are not being violated,” he added.
Chinese coast guard personnel have harassed Filipino fishermen in Scarborough (Panatag) Shoal and Philippine Navy personnel on a re-supply mission in Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal. Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr has dismissed reports on the harassment of fishermen, saying the Chinese coast guard were replacing the catch with noodles, cigarettes and bottled water.
Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana had mentioned that the harassment of Navy personnel in Ayungin was an “isolated case.”
In exchange for more economic assistance and trade, President Rodrigo Duterte is pursuing a softer stance on China, despite a 2016 victory in a United Nations-backed arbitration court, which invalidated Beijing’s nine-dash-line claim over nearly the entire South China Sea.
Farolan said the group, called the Advocacy Group for National Interests (AGNI), is composed of retired senior military officers of the Armed Forces. The members are Farolan; retired lieutenant general Edilberto Adan, former deputy chief of staff of the Armed Forces; retired colonel Plaridel Abaya; retired colonel Niceto Festin; retired commodore Carlos Agustin; retired colonel Mariano Santiago, brother of former military chief Dionisio Santiago; retired vice admiral Emilio Marayag; and retired colonel Alejandro Flores, among others. The group also counts former military chiefs Alexander Yano, Victor Ibrado and Renato de Villa.
Farolan said the re-supply missions of the Philippine Navy in Ayungin Shoal and fishermen’s activities in Scarborough should be peaceful, which means no harassment from China. “We read that there are (Philippine) Coast Guard vessels that have been turned over to the government and perhaps, they could be utilised in this effort to escort our fellow Filipinos in the disputed areas,” he said. He said the incidents in Ayungin and Scarborough shoals were events that “should not happen again.”
“The decision, of course, we will leave it to the national government. What we are saying is that there is a need to ensure that our rights are protected (in the West Philippine Sea),” Farolan stressed.
A group of retired senior officers from the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police, which formed themselves into an advocacy group that promotes and increases awareness of national interests, link arms during a press conference at the Club Filipino in San Juan City, yesterday.
