Friends such as China and the Philippines "can talk everything out," Malacañang said on Monday, in response to the presence of some 200 Chinese boats in the Julian Felipe Reef in the West Philippine Sea.
This was after the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines denied the presence of Chinese militia vessels off Julian Felipe Reef or Whitsun Reef, saying they were just fishing boats seeking shelter in rough seas.
"There is no Chinese Maritime militia as alleged," the embassy said, adding that it has taken note of the recent statement and remarks of the Philippine side.
Asked if he believed that the incident could intensify to a standoff, Palace spokesman Harry Roque said, "I don't think so."
"Meron po tayong malapit na pagkakaibigan. Lahat naman po napag-uusapan sa panig ng mga magkakaibigan at magkapitbahay (We have a close friendship. Friends and neighbors can talk everything out)," Roque said.
"Let us wait first what China would say. There was a protest. They need to give an answer," the spokesman added on what else the Philippines would do.
A Philippine air patrol on Monday spotted the Chinese boats off the Julian Felipe Reef.
“They are still there and we are counting them carefully," Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief-of-staff Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana confirmed in a media interview.
The AFP's Western Command, which is based in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, deployed a fixed-wing aircraft to fly over the area around 8:40 a.m. on Monday.
The Chinese embassy said some fishing vessels took shelter recently near the reef “due to rough sea conditions.”
"It has been a normal practice for Chinese fishing vessels to take shelter under such circumstances," it said.
The embassy statement insisted that the reef, which is part of the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), “is China’s territory and part of its Nansha Qundao (islands)."
“Chinese fishing vessels have been fishing in its adjacent waters for many years. Recently, some Chinese fishing vessels take shelter near Niu'e Jiao due to rough sea conditions,” it said.
“Any speculation… causes unnecessary irritation. It is hoped that the situation could be handled in an objective and rational manner,” the statement said.
On March 20, the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) said it received a confirmed report from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) that about 220 Chinese fishing vessels believed to be manned by Chinese Maritime militia personnel were sighted moored in line formation at the Julian Felipe Reef (Whitsun Reef) on March 7, 2021.
The task force released photos of the vessels.
The Julian Felipe Reef is a large boomerang shaped shallow coral reef at the northeast of Pagkakaisa Banks and Reefs (Union Reefs), located about 175 nautical miles west of Bataraza, Palawan.
It is within the Philippine exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, over which the country enjoys the exclusive right to exploit or conserve any resources which encompass both living resources, such as fish, and non-living resources such as oil and natural gas.
The Philippines filed a diplomatic protest over the incident Sunday night.
But former Foreign Affairs secretary Albert del Rosario on Monday prodded the government to summon Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian to shed light on the presence of the Chinese vessels in Julian Felipe Reef in the West Philippine Sea.
Del Rosario also proposed that the Philippines should seek consultation with security partners like the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia and Japan "on how to move forward with this recent act of Chinese aggression."
"Given the gravity of this development, we should consider summoning the Chinese ambassador in the Philippines to ask why we should not consider this Chinese action at Julian Felipe Reef to be an act of unilateral aggression against the territorial integrity of our country," Del Rosario said in a statement.
He said the recent Chinese action “fits the pattern of blatant bullying being done by the Chinese leadership over decades against its neighbors in the South China Sea.”
Del Rosario, who led the Philippines' arbitral tribunal victory against China in 2016, said that while it is the sworn duty of government leaders and officials to defend country’s sovereignty, they must be “proactive against incursions on our sovereign rights.”
The Permanent Court of Arbitration has ruled in favor of the Philippines, invalidating China’s massive claims over the hotly-contested South China Sea and upheld Manila’s exclusive economic zone in the West Philippine Sea.
The National Task Force on the West Philippine Sea called the latest Chinese incursion a cause for concern due to the possible overfishing and destruction of the marine environment, as well as risks to safety of navigation.
Reacting to the presence of Chinese boats in Philippine waters, Senator Francis Pangilinan said while the world is busy battling COVID-19, China is unabated in its militarization and expansionism in the West Philippine Sea.
China, he said, was using donated vaccines as a “geopolitical weapon.”
"We are behind the government in asserting our rights in our seas. We may not be as strong militarily but we are certainly strong legally, morally, and diplomatically," he said.
Senator Risa Hontiveros said the presence of Chinese boats was a “severe provocation” that only escalates tensions in the South China Sea.
As the diplomatic protest takes its course in this issue, Hontiveros said the government should also study more tangible ways to make China pay. Hontiveros also emphasized the environmental damage and the natural resources that could be further lost due to the presence of the vessels in Julian Felipe Reef.
“We have exclusive rights over the resources—fish, oil, and natural gas—in Julian Felipe Reef. …It’s maddening how China continues to snatch away our nation’s wealth while we’re in the depths of an economic crisis,” the senator said.
Last month, Hontiveros said China owes Filipinos over P800 billion in marine damage and losses due to its adventurism in the WPS. In April 2020, the senator also filed Senate Resolution No. 369 demanding that China pay ₱200 billion worth of reparations, which could be used in the country's fight against COVID-19.
"China really has no plans of recognizing and respecting the 2016 Hague ruling that favors our country," she added.
In a statement, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana urged the Chinese to stop the incursion and immediately recall the boats that he said were violating Philippine maritime rights and encroaching on the country’s sovereign territory.
"This is a clear provocative action of militarizing the area. These are territories well within Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone,” he said.
Lorenzana said the government was considering "appropriate action" to take to protect Filipino fishermen, the country's marine resources and maintain peace and stability in the area.
A government task force charged with monitoring the contested waters announced Saturday the detection of around 220 "Chinese Maritime Militia Vessels" earlier this month.
“Despite clear weather at the time, the Chinese vessels massed at the reef showed no actual fishing activities," the agency said.
The United States has previously accused China of using maritime militia to "intimidate, coerce and threaten other nations" over its claims to almost the entire South China Sea.
The resource-rich waterway is also contested by several countries, including the Philippines.
China has ignored a 2016 international tribunal decision that declared its assertion as without basis.
Philippine-China relations have improved under President Rodrigo Duterte, who has tried to steer his country away from the ambit of the United States — its former colonial master — to pursue greater economic cooperation with its giant neighbor and American rival.
But Duterte's shift has failed to stem Chinese ambitions in the sea or unlock much of the billions of dollars of promised trade and loans.
He has repeatedly said conflict with China would be futile and that the Philippines would lose and suffer heavily in the process.
Lorenzana, however, has been more outspoken.
In August he accused China of illegally occupying Filipino maritime territory, saying the nine-dash line used by Beijing to justify its alleged historic rights to the key waterway was a fabrication.
His remarks at the time came amid a fresh row over the disputed Scarborough shoal, which China seized from the Philippines in 2012following a tense standoff.
In 2019, the Philippines also complained after hundreds of Chineseships were seen near Pag-asa island, also known as Thitu, which the country branded as "illegal.”