Legarda: PH must be tolerant but expects respect for sovereignty

KNIVES READY China Coast Guard personnel brandish bladed and pointed weapons upon approaching Philippine Navy boats at Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal on June 17. Photo released by the Armed Forces of the Philippines on Wednesday.

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines must exercise tolerance amid China’s continued aggressions in the West Philippine Sea, Sen. Loren Legarda said on Thursday.

Despite China’s latest attack against Philippine troops at Ayungin Shoal, Legarda believes the conflicts could still be resolved through diplomacy and constructive dialogue.

She insisted that the resupply mission to the BRP Sierra Madre on the shoal was part of the Philippine duty to protect the World War II-era landing ship tank, which was intentionally grounded by the Philippine Navy in 1999.

“And so any damage, any violation in that area, which is within our EEZ (Exclusive EconomicZone), must be dealt with. How? By constructive dialogue. But at the same time they must respect our sovereignty especially it is in the waters within our EEZ,”  Legarda pointed out.

“While we must stretch our patience and tolerance so that we retain peace and prosperity within the West Philippine Sea, South China Sea, we must also expect everyone, all countries to enforce and respect the Hague ruling,” she added.

Eight Philippine Navy personnel were injured in the latest collision of Philippine and Chinese vessels during the resupply  mission to the BRP Sierra Madre last June17. 

Seaman First Class Jeffrey Facundo even got his thumb cut during the encounter.

Asked if she considered this latest incident an armed attacked against Filipinos, Legarda called it unfortunate and said it “must be assessed accordingly.”

“As I said, we must avoid any violent acts, we must avoid any possible act of war in our land or within our waters but we must also expect our neighbors to respect our sovereignty,” she stressed.

“We must exercise our tolerance because we are protecting 110 million Filipinos. We must balance that tolerance and patience and the use of constructive dialogue and diplomacy with asserting our rights as a sovereign nation.”

“So there must be diplomatic talks, aside from filing endless diplomatic protests because remember China is also a market of our goods, we also have people working in China,” she added.