MANILA, Philippines — Senator Francis Tolentino said the Senate’s special panel on maritime and admiralty zones is aiming to craft a Philippine map that will counter China’s 10-dash line claims.
“[We are] trying to craft our own map. This is a response to the ten dash line so we can’t finish this in one hearing,” Tolentino told reporters in a press conference on Wednesday.
The panel’s first hearing will be conducted on Thursday, September 14 where lawmakers are set to tackle the establishment of maritime zones.
Tolentino, who also sits as the chairperson of the said panel, said they also invited resource persons from Beijing University.
“[W]ala pang nag oo. [Pero] gusto rin natin makita yung views nila e, diba? Kung ano yung – bakit cina-claim nila ito. Gusto natin malaman sa kanila mismo kung bakit gumawa sila ng ten dash line. Hindi naman pwedeng tayo tayo lang nung nag meeting doon, diba? Gusto rin natin makita yung punto de vista nila nang sa ganon yung gagawin nating batas e angkop sa tinatawag ng panahon, the call of the times,” said Tolentino.
([N]o one has confirmed their attendance yet. [But] we also want to hear their views, right? What is it – why do they claim it? We want to know why they made a ten dash line. We can’t be the only ones in the meeting. We also want to know their point of view so that the law we will make is appropriate to the call of the times.)
This all comes amid China’s territorial claims over nearly the entire South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea which is well within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
China’s newly-released standard map now asserts, through a 10-dash line, that its territory extends through Taiwan and India’s northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin region.