The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) ought to have the facility to inform China to behave, Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros stated Tuesday.
The lawmaker made the assertion after she filed a decision prodding the Philippine authorities to induce the UNGA to name out China’s aggression towards Filipino fisherfolk within the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
“Yung blunt refusal ng Beijing na tanggapin ang kanyang kapalaran, authorized destiny niya, dapat might critical penalties ‘yan ha. Hindi pwedeng babalewalain lamang niya iyon. So ‘yung UNGA dapat may kakayahan na pagsabihan ang Tsina mag-behave ka,” Hontiveros said in a virtual interview with reporters.
The opposition lawmaker explained that while a UNGA resolution was not legally binding, it had a significant political weight that showed the will and consensus of the international community.
She reiterated that a UNGA resolution had the potential to shape international norms, influence national policies, and provide guidance for the work of other UN organs, specialized agencies, and regional organizations.
“Kailangan po ito dahil kahit na may ruling tayo, ang Tsina patuloy na hina-harass ang ating Navy, nananatili siyang hostile sa ating mga mangingisda at ‘yung fishing industry… patuloy na pine-pressure. Itong mga ginagawa pa rin ng Tsina ay walang iba kundi patuloy na pag-reject sa mga basic tenets ng international law,” she said.
In a separate interview, Senator JV Ejercito, who had been criticizing China’s aggression within the West Philippine Sea, stated he was inclined to help Hontiveros’ decision.
“I would support that because in recent months, the Chinese Coast Guard, in particular, has been very hostile na… to our fishermen, to the Philippine Coast Guard and even to our Navy men… It has become a very regular occurrence already,” Ejercito instructed reporters.
The lawmaker famous that there have been greater than 100 notes verbales despatched by the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs however there was no motion on the a part of China.
“I will support Senator Risa Hontiveros’ proposal that the President should bring this matter already to the United Nations para i-enforce ang Hague ruling [and] that the disputed territories will be part of the Philippine territory,” he added.
China claimed the whole West Philippine Sea even when the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration junked the expansive declare in its July 2016 ruling. The identical 2016 Hague courtroom determination additionally declared the Panatag Shoal a typical fishing floor for nations and outlawed China’s aggression towards Philippine vessels, together with stopping Filipino fishermen from accessing the Scarborough (Panatag) Shoal.
Further, the Hague ruling upheld that the Panganiban (Mischief) Reef, Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal, and Recto (Reed) Bank are all inside the Philippines’ unique financial zone as supplied by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
China, nevertheless, refuses to acknowledge the Hague ruling to at the present time.
Just final week, Filipino fisherfolk in Pag-asa Island, which is inside the Philippines’ 200 nautical mile unique financial zone, lamented that China had been blocking their entry to the wealthy fishing floor, leaving them distressed and hungry. — DVM, GMA Integrated News
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
