Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel “Babe” Romualdez on Tuesday urged Filipinos to be united behind the government amid the growing tension in the West Philippine Sea.
In a television interview, Romualdez warned that the dispute between the Philippines and China is “far more than what people think it is.”
“I think that this is the time for us to really be together, all united in pushing back,” he told ANC’s Headstart. “It’s time to push back.”
Romualdez said the recent altercation in the Ayungin Shoal between the ships of the Chinese Coast Guard and the Philippine Coast Guard signaled a strong message of what China can do to the Philippines.
“Some people think it’s a lot of but, just politics, and there’s a lot of these things going around. It’s very serious. As I said, we can actually lose a country if we don’t watch it,” he said.
“That’s how serious this thing is. One day we may find ourselves that we don’t have a country anymore. We can become a vassal state, who knows?” he added.
The 5 August incident in the Ayungin Shoal, during which China used a water cannon and dangerous maneuvers against Philippine vessels while en route for a resupply mission to the BRP Sierra Madre, sparked a word war between the foreign affairs ministries of both the Philippines and China.
The Philippine government, through the Department of Foreign Affairs, condemned in the strongest terms the incident perpetrated by China Coast Guard, People’s Liberation Army Navy, and Chinese maritime militia vessels.
It, likewise, urged China to “immediately stop its coercive, unlawful, and unjustifiable activities in our maritime zones.”
China’s Foreign Ministry responded to the alleged harassment of Chinese Coast Guards by claiming that the Philippines did not fulfill its commitment to remove the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, which they call the Ren’ai Reef.
Ayungin Shoal, also known as Second Thomas Shoal, is located 105 nautical miles west of Palawan and is part of the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. denied that the Philippine government made such a promise to China.
Former President Rodrigo Duterte, through Salvador Medialdea, was the latest to deny China’s claim.
“I’m not aware of any such arrangement or agreement that the Philippines will remove from its own territory its ship, in this case, the BRP Sierra Madre from the Ayungin Shoal,” Marcos said in a video message.
He also asserted that he is rescinding any commitment should there be an agreement between the two countries to remove the vessel.
“And let me go further, if there does exist such an agreement, I rescind that agreement now,” Marcos said.
The People’s Republic of China claimed the vast South China Sea, which covers the West Philippine Sea.