Leftist solons seek China probe

Bayan Muna representatives on Tuesday filed a resolution calling for a probe of China’s intrusion in the disputed Spratly Islands amid charges that the country’s leftist groups had been curiously silent on Beijing’s actions.

The resolution also chided Malacañang for fanning the tension by “dragging the United States into the picture by publicly insisting that the latter was obligated to side with the Philippines against China because of the 1951 RP-US Mutual Defense Treaty” aside from dispatching the country’s biggest warship to patrol the country’s territorial waters.

In House Resolution No. 1420, Representatives Teodoro Casiño and Neri Colmenares said:

“Congress has the duty to look into the reported intrusions with the end in view of finding ways to de-escalate tensions and exploring possible solutions to the problem, especially those that may require legislation or even diplomatic initiatives involving members of the legislative branch in the claimant countries.”

It said that China’s forays into Philippine-claimed territories (such as setting up military garrisons and outposts in the Spratlys and Chinese patrol boats harassing a Philippine oil exploration ship) clearly violated the “Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea” signed in 2002.

The lawmakers said Malacañang’s call for US involvement could be interpreted as an invitation for the Americans to “freely patrol the disputed areas and challenge China in controlling key shipping lanes and potential oil or gas resources in the area.”