Akbayan party today described the Chinese government’s statement protesting the trip of five lawmakers to Kalayaan in the West Philippine Sea as the "height of absurdity and arrogance."
Akbayan Rep. Walden Bello, who is the head of the trip dubbed as the “peace and solidarity mission” said Kalayaan, particularly Pag-asa is not a disputed place.
“It is part of our country’s territory being a municipality in the province of Palawan. We have a mayor there. There are more than 200 Filipino souls living there. My God, there’s even a communication tower in the island from a Philippine-based telecommunications. We have every right as Filipino citizens to visit Philippine territory. Hence, for the Chinese government to say that our trip will undermine and sabotage bilateral ties is baseless, absurd and arrogant,” Bello said.
Bello said the China should learn to “climb down” from its “schoolyard bully antics” and respect its neighbour countries’ sovereignty.
“What is being undermined here is not regional stability but China’s shaky claims to the area. You issue silly statements like this, you end up losing face in the international community,” Bello said.
The progressive lawmaker explained the objective of the ‘mission” is to conduct an ocular inspection to boost the country’s rightful territorial claims and defend its sovereignty over the West Philippine Sea. Bello also said part of the objective of the trip is to provide support and solidarity to the citizens in the area.
“The Peace and Solidarity Mission is exactly what it is, we are not violating any international or diplomatic agreement because we are visiting Philippine territory to express our strong support to our troops in defense of national sovereignty, and to call for the peaceful resolution of the disputes through bilateral negotiations,” Bello added.
Meanwhile, Akbayan Acting President Marie Chris Cabreros said the trip has the support of many Filipinos.
“We are receiving many messages of support from ordinary citizens and different interest groups who are very appreciative of the trip to Kalayaan Island. Truth is, almost everybody supports the sovereignty mission. It even has the support of different government institutions such as the Armed forces of the Philippines, the Department of National Defense, and the Department of Foreign Affairs. Even Malacanang is not opposed to the trip,” Cabreros said.
“Hindi nakakapagtaka kung bakit malaki ang suporta. Ang pinuntahan na lugar ay maliwanag na teritoryo ng Pilipinas. Kaya doon sa iilan na diumano ay nagdadalawang isip sa ginawang biyahe, baka pagnilayan nila ang kanilang mga posisyon at baka nahuhulog na sila sa bitag at linya ng Chinese government,” Cabreros concluded. ###
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