Chinese envoy kinastigo sa pananakot sa Pinas

BINUWELTAHAN ng mga kongresistang bahagi ng tinaguriang House Young Guns ang hayagang pananakot sa Pilipinas ni Chinese Ambassador Jing Quan.

Partikular na tinukoy ng mga batang mambabatas ang sinabi ng Chinese Ambassador — na kayang-kayang durugin anumang oras ang Pilipinas kung nanaisin ng China.

Giit ni Deputy Speaker at La Union Rep. Paolo Ortega V, na ang pagbabanta ay hindi isang kasigurahan na magkakaroon ng kapayapaan.

“When a larger power tells a smaller nation that it could easily win if it chose force, it is not offering security. It is asserting dominance and expecting silence in return. That is the opposite of peace,” pahayag ni Ortega.

Ayon naman kay Deputy Speaker at Zambales Rep. Jefferson Khonghun, “Peace is built on mutual respect and adherence to international law, not on the forbearance of the stronger party.” 

“The Philippines has never asked China for mercy. We have asked only for compliance with UNCLOS and the 2016 Arbitral Award. China’s continued water-cannoning, ramming, and blocking of Philippine vessels show that the restraint it advertises is selective and conditional,” ani Khonghun.

Sinabi naman ni Manila 1st Dist. Rep. Ernix Dionisio ang pahayag ng Chinese envoy ay taliwas sa tunay na ginagawa ng China sa West Philippine Sea.

“Declaring that you will not use force after first advertising that you can easily win is not reassurance—it is a threat with a smile. True peace requires China to stop harassing our fishermen and Coast Guard, respect the 2016 Arbitral Award, and abandon the idea that might make right in the West Philippine Sea. Anything less is just coercion by another name,” wika ni Dionisio.

“The Filipino people do not measure peace by the absence of open war,” ang bulalas naman ni Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong. 

“We measure it by the presence of justice, the security of our fishermen, and the freedom to exercise our rights within our own exclusive economic zone. On those measures, China’s actions and words continue to fall short,” giit ni Alonto Adiong.

Sa panig ni House prosecution panel adviser and spokesman Ace Barbers, hindi katanggap-tanggap ang pagiging arrogante ng Chinese Ambassador.

“Pick a fight with someone your own size. Di naman kami kasing laki nyo, eh. But that does not give you the right to bully us,” tigas na sabi ni Barbers.

Ani Barbers, maaaring hindi uubra ang bilang ng mga Pilipinong sundalo kumpara sa military resources ng China, subalit tahasan niyang sinabi ng hindi basta isusuko ng mga Pilipino ang dignidad, soberanya at maritime rights na bansa.

“We may be smaller, but we are not afraid. The Philippines is not for sale, not for intimidation, and certainly not for bullying.”