PH to pursue enforcement of arbitration ruling in the future - Yasay
There is nothing the Philippines can do for now to stop China's militarization and construction of permanent facilities in parts of the West Philippine Sea, Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay said Friday.
"We cannot stop China at this point in time and saying: 'Do not put that up.' We will continue to pursue peaceful means at which all of these can be prevented," he said.
"There is nothing that we can do about that now, whether or not it is being done for purposes of further militarizing these facilities that they have put up," he added.
China has reportedly installed weapons in the artificial islands it has built along the South China Sea and has defended its "right" to do so as a sovereign nation.
However, Yasay stressed that the matter has been decided by the arbitral tribunal and the enforcement of that ruling will be pursued by the Philippines at a future date.
"The issue about the militarization and the construction of permanent facilities by China, insofar as the disputed territory with the Philippines is concerned, which we consider as part of our Exclusive Economic Zone, has already been passed upon by the arbitral tribunal and [the] decision there is very clear," he said.
The Hague tribunal at the Permanent Court of Arbitration favored the Philippines last July in its claims in the South China Sea. China however, rejected the decision.
The DFA chief added that the Philippines will continue with peaceful means to resolve the matter even as they prefer to let other countries who also have an interest in the matter take their own steps.
"There are other countries that will have special concerns insofar as these activities of China is concerned. Such as, insofar as the right to the freedom of navigation that they would like to protect and over flight operations, the United States is concerned about this, Japan is concerned about this, the European Union is concerned about this," he said.
Yasay said the Philippines will continue to have bilateral engagements with China and avoid actions to heighten tensions. He also pointed out that fishermen now have free access to Scarborough shoal.
"We will move forward in the future insofar as pursuing the enforcement of the decision of the arbitral tribune on the basis of that findings and conclusions," he said.
He noted the bilateral agreements with China and said the country will continue its engagements even if the matter on the weapons installation has been placed at the back burner.
"Let them take whatever action is necessary in the pursuit of their national interest is concerned and we will leave it at that, for the Philippines, we have our bilateral engagements with China," he said.
"We wanna make sure that there will be no further actions that will heighten the tensions between the two countries, particularly in the Scarborough Shoal."
防長對中國在南海部署武器感憂慮
本報訊：美國智庫“亞洲海事透明倡議”(AMTI)最近公佈衛星照片，顯示中國在南海人工島上部署武器系統，菲國防部對此表示憂慮。
國防部長羅仁薩那昨天在國防部受訪時說，菲律賓政府仍在查證這則消息，“如果這是真的，對我們和國際社會來說，都會帶來很大的擔憂。”
羅仁薩那補充，這顯示北京正在將南海區域軍事化。
外電最近引述美國戰略暨國際問題研究中心(CSIS)旗下的“亞洲海事透明倡議”說，北京持續在南海佔據的人工島嶼上改善一些設施，並部署了大型防空砲和近迫武器系統(CIWS)。
根據菲國外交部的說法，近年來，中國逐步已將華陽礁、美濟礁、赤瓜礁、東門礁、南薰礁、渚碧礁和永暑礁等7座海上地物，改造成人工島，面積也因此擴大數倍，部份人工島上還有飛機跑道。
菲籲在南海勿採取挑釁行為
本報訊：菲律賓昨天表示很關注中方在南中國海的人工島上安裝武器設備的報導，呼籲各方不要在爭端水域採取挑釁行為。
外交部發言人傅查理在聲明中說，菲律賓正在確認關於中國已在具爭端的南海水域的其中7個島上部置了武器的報導。
當被要求發表意見時，傅查理說：“我們正在確認該報導。但如果該報導是真的，那麼，這是令人嚴重關切的，因為它將加刻緊張局勢和破壞地區的和平與穩定。”
他在短信中告訴記者：“我們呼籲相關的各方避免採取任何可能加刻地區緊張局勢及進一步複雜化局勢的行為。相關各方應該一起促進南中國海的和平、安全與穩定。”
醒悟了：菲外长称美阻止中国南海建设都为自己
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2017-01-14 14:34:11 环球网 参与评论(324)人
【环球网军事报道 记者 李德意】据菲律宾GMA新闻网1月13日晚间报道，菲律宾外长亚赛在发布会上表示，美国今后任何迫使中国停止其南海岛礁建设的举动，都是基于美国自身特权和美国自身利益所作的决定。
亚赛是在接受电视采访时，针对美国候任国务卿蒂勒森的对华强硬言论，作出上述回应。亚塞说，“美国称将阻止中国的这种行为(指岛礁建设)。美国有本事这样做，那就让他们做呗。”