By Priam Nepomuceno
MANILA – China has no right to demand the removal of the BRP Sierra Madre (LS-57) in Ayungin Shoal at the West Philippine Sea, Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said on Wednesday.
“They have no right to say that. So, it is beyond their jurisdiction and beyond any form of intervention under international law,” he said in a press briefing during the second day of the ASEAN Ministerial Conference on Disaster Resilience at Conrad Hotel in Pasay City.
The DND chief issued this statement when sought for a comment on China’s recent calls to remove the BRP Sierra Madre, even as they accused the Philippines of attempting to carry out large-scale repairs and reinforcement of the Filipino naval vessel in order to effect permanent occupation of the shoal.
Likewise, Teodoro said he is not inclined to give this narrative importance, as China has no reason to comment on the Philippines.
“As the DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) has repeatedly said, and their narrative of whatever sha-sha-sha and tau-tau-tau, which the world doesn’t recognize, together with their nine-dash line, is something that we should not even give importance to, and we should continue to do whatever UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) and international law gives us within our respective areas of sovereign rights or jurisdiction,” he said.
He also added that China cannot violate UNCLOS by “doing things outside UNCLOS, and disregarding UNCLOS.” (PNA)
