MANILA, Philippines – IBINAHAGI ni Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ang kanyang “greatest fear” sa West Philippine Sea ay ang makagawa ng mali ang sundalo na maaaring mauwi sa “something out of control.”
Sa pagsasalita sa foreign business leaders sa Forbes Global CEO Conference sa Singapore, sinabi ni Pangulong Marcos na Ito ang dahilan kung bakit ang Code of Conduct sa nasabing katubigan ay mahalaga.
“My greatest fear is that some seaman, some soldier, just makes a mistake. And that mistake turns into something that goes out of control. And that’s why the Code of Conduct is very, very important, and we’re working very, very hard. We’re making good progress, as a matter of fact, in terms of the Code of Conduct,” ayon kay Pangulong Marcos.
“I don’t know if we can find a resolution to the problem, but we are resigned to just being able to manage the problem so that we do not have mistakes, we don’t have misinterpretations,” aniya pa rin.
Sinabi ng Pangulo na hindi siya sigurado kung ang territorial row ay maaaring malutas, subalit kailangan na mapangasiwaan. Habang ang talakayan ukol sa Code of Conduct ay matagal at mahaba, nananatili namang kumpiyansa si Pangulong Marcos.
“We are determined to come to an agreement and to hopefully de-escalate the situation,” aniya pa rin.
“The South China Sea Code of Conduct is a proposed set of rules between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations regarding the shared waters. Discussions for the code have spanned years, with talks being stalled by disagreements on the code’s scope and enforceability,” ayon sa ulat.
Winika pa ng Pangulo na mayroong mas malaking layunin na manatili ang freedom of navigation sa buong mundo, “with the disputed waterways being a vital passage point for global commerce.
“We must maintain the peace, we must maintain the freedom of navigation, not only for ourselves, but also for the rest of the world,” aniya pa rin.
Sa nasabing forum, muling inulit ng Pangulo ang pag-angkin sa West Philippine Sea, sabay sabing ito ang tungkulin niya at ng bawat pinoy na protektahan ang teritoryo ng bansa.
Sinabi pa nito na “that in the view of international law, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the disputed waters belong to the Philippines.”
“It is very, very clear that these areas are part of Philippine sovereign territory, and also part of our economic zone,” ang sinabi ng Pangulo.
“And therefore it is imperative on us; I took an oath to defend the constitution of the Philippines, when I took on—every office that I took on—I took that oath, that I will support and defend the constitution of the Philippines, and the constitution of the Philippines defines the territory, the sovereign territory of the Philippines such,” ang dagdag na wika nito.
“That is my duty to do that as president; it is the duty, in my view, of every Philippine citizen to do that same, and that’s what we’re trying to do,” aniya pa rin. KRIS JOSE
