China threatening to arrest Filipino seafarers who would sail in its self-proclaimed 10-dash line is a provocation, National Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said on Friday, May 24.
In his speech during the Philippine Navy’s 126th anniversary, Teodoro said China’s rules about how its Coast Guard can operate and arrest Filipinos in the South China Sea were a matter of international concern.
“Such behavior is not only a violation of UNCLOS but also a violation of precepts of the UN Charter, which lays upon each responsible state the duty to refrain from the use of force or aggression to enforce, particularly in this case, illegal territorial claims in the maritime domain,” said Teodoro.
“That is a provocation insofar as I am concerned,” he added.
Teodoro stressed that the Philippines should not only depend on other countries' help but it must learn to defend its exclusive economic zone.
The defense secretary also said China's moves are not just against the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea but also with the United Nations Charter for using violence in the ocean.
In its part, the Chinese Foreign Ministry stated that there was no reason for alarm given that there was no illegal action by the individuals and bodies concerned since the new regulations were designed to safeguard the maritime order.
Bantang pag-aresto ng China sa mga naglalayag sa EEZ ng Pilipinas, itinuturing na 'provocation' ng @dndphl | RH 52 @ednielparrosa, DZRH News#MBCTVNetworkNews #SamaSamaTayoPilipinohttps://t.co/ROGgjwAzxm pic.twitter.com/p4cQXHO8nm
— DZRH NEWS (@dzrhnews) May 24, 2024
