LAST August 17, 2020, the Malay Mail reported that the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency shot and killed a Vietnamese fisherman during a boarding and inspection mission of two fishing boats suspected of illegal fishing in Malaysian claimed waters.
Three months ago, in May, the New Straits Times reported Malaysia’s protest over the trespassing of Vietnam’s fishing boats in its claimed territorial waters which actually the Vietnamese consider to be within their territorial claim.
Last August 14, 2020, the Sultanate of Sulu announced to the media that it is reasserting its claim to Sabah after the Philippines and Malaysian foreign ministries sparred on Twitter about the longstanding dispute over our overlapping territorial claims in the South China Sea.
During the same period Malaysia had asserted its EEZ claim over the Kalayaan Group of Islands (KIG) which is part of the Philippine territorial map with its occupied islands in the Spratly’s. The islands include Pag-asa, Likas, Parola, Lawak, Kota, Patag, Melchora Aquino, Panata, Balatas, Ayungin and Rizal.
Malaysia is claiming EEZ based on its supposed ownership of Sabah which has its continental shelf jutting out and extending its claim all the way to the Spratly’s and the Philippines’ Kalayaan Group of Islands even if that’s already declared by Philippine law as part of the country’s territory. This should give many Filipinos a shock and realization that the PCA “award” is a multi-edged knife – cutting us too.
It is good that these cases are now being reported as the intensity of the fishing activities intensify amongst the nations that have claims to the South China Sea (SCS). It highlights something I have been trying to explain and emphasize for many years now – the SCS claims are more complicated than what the anti-China trolls make Filipinos believe.
In fact, China is the only one advancing the only solution to the problem of the seven-way competing claims with many overlapping one or more of the other claims.
While China has been targeted by Western and traditional Philippine mainstream media for biased political reasons, countries like Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia can actually pose bigger headaches for the Philippines.
But China has successfully resolved the contentious issues over its rival claim to the Phi8lippines with the wisdom President Duterte has exercised, “joint development” of the SCS resources exemplified by the 60/40 oil and gas deal with China favoring the Philippines, a project to ensure Philippine energy self-sufficiency after the Malampaya runs out – without conflict and with lots of smiles and handshakes.
It has taken four years for the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) hoax foisted by the Americans through Noynoy Aquino, Albert del Rosario, Justice Carpio, Heydarian, Batongbacal et al (I love mentioning them with derision to expose their hypocrisy and mercenary characters) to mentally manipulate the Filipino which was very successful for some years.
The foolish episode in our history when the nation was taken for a ride by the “lawfare” (warfare using Law and media) of the Americans that also cost taxpayers up to P 1.2-billion still to be liquidated by Noynoy Aquino et al as the COA demands. But now more Filipinos understand the comprehensive picture and even crystallizes further with these intra-ASEAN claimants’ conflicts.
It is only through the strong and discerning political will of President Duterte and the enlightened and firm diplomacy of China that the Philippines did not fall into the trap set by the Americans – to make the Philippines the canon-fodder in an Asian conflict only the American hegemony will benefit from.