MANILA, Philippines – PATULOY na itinatanggi ng Tsina ang ‘right to access’ ng Pilipinas sa exclusive economic zone (EEZ) nito sa West Philippine Sea (WPS).
“It’s the same story over and over again. They have been more aggressive denying us access to our EEZ in the WPS,” ang sinabi ni , Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. sa isang joint press conference sa Western Command headquarters sa Puerto Princesa, Palawan.
Kasama ni Teodoro ang bumibisitang si United States Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III.
Sinabi pa ni Teodoro na ginagamit ng Tsina ang “pseudo military vessels” na nagpapanggap bilang Coast Guard vessels at maritime militia ships sa iba’t ibang lugar sa WPS.
Nagsagawa rin ang Tsina ng agresibong “information operations” laban sa Pilipinas.
Ani Teodoro, mas lalong binigyang-diin ito ng reaksyon ng mga tsino sa bagong nilagdaan na General Security of Military Information Agreement sa pagitan ng Pilipinas at Estados Unidos.
“If you weren’t paranoid, you wouldn’t comment about it, so far as I’m concerned, because it is something bilateral between the United States and the Philippines. So all of these actions to me prove the existence of some motive which is brought about by a close political system, excuse me, a political system where the external controls the internal political environment,” dagdag na wika nito.
Sinang-ayunan naman ni Austin ang naging obserbasyon ni Teodoro, inilalarawan ang mga ginagawa ng Tsina bilang “concerning.”
“You’ve heard me say that a number of times. They’ve used dangerous and escalatory measures to enforce their expansive South China Sea maritime claims,” ang sinabi ni Austin.
Aniya, ayaw niyang mag-isip at gumawa ng anumang “hypotheticals” pagdating sa Mutual Defense Treaty, na ipinangako ng Estados Unidos.
“We stand with the Philippines and we condemn dangerous actions by the PRC (People’s Republic of China) against lawful Philippine operations in the South China Sea. Again, this is concerning behavior. We’ve made this point to (our) Chinese counterparts a number of times. Again, we’ll continue to work with our allies and then make sure that we’re doing the right thing to promote a secure and open Indo-Pacific,” ang litaniya nito. Kris Jose
