Duterte’s 3rd SONA: West Philippine Sea advocates slams his continuing “soft” stance against China’s disrespect of Philippine territorial sovereignty

By Dr. Celia B. Lamkin
Saipan
July 25, 2018



Nothing but a play of words, of motherhood statements – this is the frustrating assessment of the members of the National Youth Movement for West Philippine Sea (NYMWPS), the global group advocating the preservation of the West Philippine Sea of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s third state of the nation address.



The are more than 200 strong members of NYMWPS headed by its founder and Global Chairperson –  Saipan-based Dr. Celia B.  Lamkin, once again expressed its frustrations on how Duterte and his administration have continued to maintain a lackadaisical stance in dealing with the territorial issues and the reported militarization of parts of the West Philippine Sea which the UN Tribunal has decided in favor of the Philippines.

In his speech on July 23, 2018, Duterte said that his government will “continue to reach out to all nations regardless of their prevailing political persuasions or proximity to or distance from our shores so long as these nations wish (the Philippines) well.”  He also highlighted the improved relationship with China, and his administration’s unwavering commitment to defend the Philippines’ interests in the disputed territory.

NYMWPS sees the inconsistencies and the lack of political will of the Duterte administration to uphold what the UN Tribunal has already decided upon.  The evidently “soft” foreign policies and the so-called bilateral and multilateral platforms such as the ASEAN-China and the Philippines-China Bilateral Consultation Mechanism are nothing but one-way-street relationships meant to favor China, the group believes.  The dependency of the Duterte administration to loans given by China is likewise seen by the group as is influencing the lack of political will, not to mention a dangerous debt trap which many third world nations have fallen into.

“Meanwhile, Duterte’s claims of positive developments like renewed access of Filipino fishermen in disputed areas of the West Philippine Sea because of his administration’s open lines of communication and amicable management of differences, are nothing but a play of words,” says Dr. Lamkin.  “We are directly working with and are in constant communication with the fishermen whose livelihood largely depends on the waters of the disputed seas, and what Mr. Duterte wants the world to believe is not the reality,” she added. 

For the group, it is ironic how Duterte has talked in his state of the nation address about his concern for human lives and how he highlighted that “human rights means giving the Filipinos at the society’s fringes a decent and dignified future” yet, his policies seem to disregard the fishermen who sadly belong to this sector of society. “When Mr. Duterte turned a blind eye to the territorial disrespect of China and the massive dredging and reclamation of the reefs which destroyed the natural habitat of marine life in the area, he denied the future generation of Filipinos a decent and dignified future,” the group emphasized.

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Author: Dr. Celia B. Lamkin , Global Chairperson and Founder, National Youth Movement for West Philippine Sea ( NYMWPS)

For info: Celia Lamkin   [email protected]

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