Duterte dared to rally claimant countries vs Chinese aggression
Manila, Philippines – The militant fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (PAMALAKAYA) on Saturday said that with the outright rejection of Chinese President Xi Jinping to acknowledge our legal victory in the arbitral tribunal, there is no other way to assert the West Philippine Sea but to rally the other 5 claimant countries of the South China Sea, namely, Vietnam, Taiwan, Myanmar, Indonesia, and Malaysia against Chinese aggression in the region.
“Pay a visit to Vietnam, Taiwan, Myanmar, Indonesia, and Malaysia to establish fraternal relations against China and garner broad international support in the process. Through unity within the claimant countries can we only put international pressure to China to end its encroachment of our territorial waters,” Fernando Hicap, PAMALAKAYA National Chairperson said in a statement, daring President Duterte to have state visits to the said countries.
(“Bumisita sya sa Vietnam, Myanmar, Indonesia, at Malaysia para bumuo ng praternal na relasyon laban sa China at mangalap ng malawak na internasyunal na suporta sa proseso. Sa pamamagitan ng pagkakaisa ng mga bansang may claim lamang maitutulak ang China na tapusin nito ang panghihimasok ng ating mga teritoryo,”)
Hicap, former Anakpawis Partylist Representative, asserted to Duterte that “It would be more productive to rally claimant countries against Chinese territorial intervention than the repeated state visits to China that only wasted billions of taxpayers’ money and paved the way for unfair economic and trade agreements that do not benefit the Filipino people,”
(“Mas produktibo pa kung tinipon at pinagkaisa ang mga claimant countries laban sa panghihimasok ng teritoryo ng China kesa sa makailang-ulit na pagbisita sa China na nagwaldas lamang ng bilyun-bilyong buwis ng mamamayan at binigyang daan ang mga di-pantay na kasunduang pang-ekonomiya at kalakalan na hindi pakikinabangan ng mga Pilipino,”)
The group lambasted the Philippines-China joint oil and gas exploration in Recto Bank which has already reached the signing of Terms of Reference (TOR), and is one of the main agendas of the ongoing 5th and longest state visit of Duterte to China. ###
