Philippine Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri told local reporters last week he would be filing a resolution Monday to recommend ending bilateral talks with China and denounce its harassment of Filipino vessels in the South China Sea.
He also suggested the country should continue its diplomatic protest against the superpower and file an appeal to the United Nations (UN) to act on their protest as one of their options, CNN's Philippine bureau reported.
Zubiri: Senate Measure Intends to Give Executive Branch Extra Options
Zubiri added his measure would express Manila's condemnation of Beijing's incursions in Philippine waters and its continued rejection of the 2016 Hague ruling, which nullified the Chinese Nine-Dash Line claim. His resolution was intended to provide the Malacañang with additional options to deal with China other than bilateral discussions.
"The Senate can give its opinion." Zubiri said. "We can make suggestions. We can give the sense of the Senate, where we see anger at what is happening in the [South China] Sea."
The proposed resolution followed senatorial colleague Risa Hontiveros's own resolution urging the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs to raise the issue of China's harassment of Philippine vessels in the contested waters to the UN General Assembly (UNGA).
Rumors of PH-CN Military Drills Arise
Earlier this week, the Armed Forces of the Philippines chief, Gen. Romeo Brawner, told local reporters its Chinese counterpart was offering to hold joint military exercises and are looking at some white papers Beijing has sent their way.
While there was no immediate comment from Brawner to confirm or deny the claims, military spokesperson Col. Medel Aguilar said he saw the video of Brawner's interview and reiterated that his conversation with the Chinese diplomat was "informal."
On the other hand, Filipino House lawmaker and China critic Rep. Rufus Rodriguez (Cagayan De Oro) told the Philippine Daily Inquirer such proposals were "absurd," and was planning to file a House resolution to express his opposition to it formally. Meanwhile, his left-leaning party-list colleague Arlene Brosas (GABRIELA) echoed the same sentiment, saying the country should never compromise its sovereignty and national security by kowtowing to foreign powers like China.
The Chinese Embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to reporters' requests for comment.
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