Sen. Risa Hontiveros
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines must name all isles, rocks, reefs and other features in the Kalayaan Island Group as a way to assert and reinforce the country’s sovereignty over that part of the West Philippine Sea against claims by China, Sen. Risa Hontiveros said in a statement issued on Monday.
“Identity is key. Naming our land and rocks in the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) will help us consolidate our ownership of the West Philippine Sea,” Hontiveros said.
The opposition senator said such a task was part of the mandate of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to officially define the scope of the country’s territorial waters “and to let the world know, which lands and rocks are the Philippines’.”
“The features we occupy in the KIG remain unnamed. Naming them will strengthen our claims and rights to the West Philippine Sea,” Hontiveros said.
Hontiveros said the DENR must direct the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority to begin the undertaking.The KIG is a nine-islet chain that the country claims as part of its territory.
In international law, she added, maritime and territorial claims arise from named and defined pieces of land or rock.
“Establishing baselines in the KIG that can identify our territorial seas bolsters our complete sovereignty over these seas … We must also accelerate the upgrading of our facilities in the KIG and start building a permanent base,” Hontiveros said.
“If we stay passive in the face of China’s aggression, China will only continue to take what is ours. Let us show China that we will not yield in this fight. Let us strengthen the Philippines’ defense—on paper or in the seas,” she said.
While other lawmakers are pushing back against Beijing’s incursions in the West Philippine Sea, Leyte Rep. Lucy Torres Gomez warned about economic repercussions if the Philippines “continues to insist that China give in to our demand” for them to leave the West Philippines Sea.
Gomez, a member of the House defense committee, cited the economic backlash in 2012 amid the Scarborough standoff when China refused banana exports from the Philippines.