ON June 12th, the 124th anniversary of the declaration of Philippine independence, we celebrate the appreciation of the Filipino youth and all Filipinos for freedom, and to reiterate their united call for the preservation of our sovereignty, particularly in the West Philippine Sea and territorial integrity. In the midst of the brewing tensions in the region, we have remained steadfast as ever. We have remained committed to the idea of a free Republic and today, our collective aspirations shall bear fruit.
It was on June 12, 1898, when the first colors of freedom were unfurled in the still infantile Republic of the Philippines. The sound of the anthem, with its vigorous tone that exudes everything that makes us Filipino, still resonates to this day. Yet, as many of us may not realize it, we have lost our freedom again 27 years ago when imperialist China illegally grabbed our territory, the Panganiban Reef or Mischief Reef, from us, and now it is already a military base of China. Acting like modern-day conquistadors, they have cemented their hold since then; sending more men and more ships to engage in a series of coercive activities in our seas, usurping our sovereignty. Since then, they have dredged more of our centuries-old reefs and created islands out of them for military purposes. China created an artificial island in our Zamora Reef or Subi Reef which is 12 nautical miles from Pag-asa Island, Kalayaan, Palawan and it is also now militarized. Adding further injury to this insult, they have disseminated fabricated lies and asserted their aggrandized delusions to the rest of the world.
Their bellicose actions have hurt our country in many, unprecedented ways, especially during this Covid019 pandemic. Our economy is severely affected, with many of our countrymen deprived of thousands of jobs and lost income. Most of all, China has disturbed the harmonious status quo in the region. They have compelled their neighbors, including us, to an arms race, forcing governments to buy guns and missiles with funds that were meant for books, housing and medicines. Every day that this issue is not resolved despite the victory of the Philippines against China’s nine-dash line claims in the West Philippine Sea at the Arbitral Tribunal on July 12, 2016, the grim specter of conflict looms larger.
As a peace-loving nation, one of the only few countries in the world that has enshrined the promise of non-belligerence in their own Constitution, the Filipino people are against war and other forms of conflict. As a clear manifestation of this desire, in January 2013, during the late President Benigno Aquino’s administration, our own government resorted to international law to regain our sovereign rights in our West Philippine Sea. In this non-violent path, we have gained the respect and recognition of the international community, and they accept and respect the Arbitral Tribunal Award to the Philippines.
We have never faltered on our aspiration for a community of nations that exist side by side for the collective good of mankind. We abhor the proliferation of irrationality and displaced egos among men in power, not only in our own but also in all nations.
The Filipino youth is clearly a victim in this issue. As most are still in a very young age, they are oblivious of the creeping invasion of their homeland. We fear the day when our own sons and daughters would no longer have the privilege to call the Kalayaan Islands as their own; too see foreign labels in the goods sourced in the West Philippine Sea; and to endure the belligerent routine maneuvers of foreign military equipment violating our seas and airspace.
Yet, we shall not waver! Today, we will not be cowed into submission by those who usurp our freedom. That is why the Filipino youth and all patriotic Filipinos of all ages, recognize our duty to uphold the preservation of the Philippines’ sovereignty and territorial integrity of the State, and cognizant of the importance of the West Philippine Sea to our national progress, established on September 28, 2015 the National Youth Movement for the West Philippine Sea, a peaceful, transglobal and non-partisan organization that embodies our collective ideals, goals and objectives. These are the Filipino youth and all patriotic Filipinos acting today! For the sake of our country! For the sake of our people!
We will show the world that we will not stand by while what belongs to our people are pillaged by foreign plunderers.
We will not stand by as our fishermen are being hosed down, their boats destroyed, and their dignity treated like rags as they are unjustly stripped of their livelihood.
We will not stand by when aggressors build weapons of war in our seas and subjugate us with their air bases, their fighter jets, and ships!
The recent presence of the Chinese Liaoning Aircraft Carrier and the high-intensity drills conducted by the People’s Liberation Army Navy in the West Philippine Sea ( https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3178106/chinas-carrier-drills-offer-pointers-plans-future-strike-groups), the presence of more than 100 Chinese vessels illegally operating in and around the Juan Felipe Reef or Whitsun Reef located around 175 nautical miles west of Bataraza town of Palawan which is a repetition of China’s incursion in our territory with the presence of 220 Chinese militia boats in the Julian Felipe Reef or Whitsun Reef which is within the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone as early as March 7, 2021, and China’s unilateral imposition of the fishing ban in our West Philippine Sea which started on May 1, 2022 and expected to last until August 16, 2022, resulting in the existing deprivation and devastation the livelihood of our fishermen while China is enjoying our fish and other marine resources in our territory, are unacceptable, illegal, non-negotiable and inhumane.
These are blatant violations by China of international law, specifically the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea or UNCLOS; the 2002 Declaration of the Code of Conduct of the parties in the South China Sea which ASEAN and China signed (the declaration promised to “enhance favorable conditions for a peaceful and durable solution of differences and disputes among countries concerned”); and the Arbitral Tribunal Ruling in favor of the Philippines on July 12, 2016.
We, thus, call on the various responsible agencies of the Philippine national government to soundly advise the incumbent president and the president-elect to assert, as they both promised, our sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea, to uphold their constitutional mandate to defend our territorial integrity and national interest so that the Chinese vessels operating within the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone or EEZ and territorial waters are immediately expelled.
We will not stand by as our people are deprived of their sovereign rights in our West Philippine Sea!
The West Philippine Sea, from its pristine waters, long stretches of coral reefs beyond the eyes can see, with its richly endowed marine life, oil, and natural gas, is ours and ours alone!
We will uphold our duty as Filipino youth and patriotic Filipinos to ensure its preservation today and for long as we live in this world.
Long live the National Youth Movement for the West Philippines Sea!
Long live the Free Republic of the Philippines!
DR. CELIA LAMKIN
Founder and Global Chairperson
National Youth Movement for the West Philippine Sea
