All foreign vessels planning to pass the Philippines’ territorial waters must now first get clearance from the government based on a new directive of President Duterte.
If these ships refuse to comply with the President’s order, the government is prepared to enforce it in an “unfriendly manner” by stopping the vessel and telling the crew to move out of the local waters, according to Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo.
The President made the decision following the repeated passage of foreign vessels, particularly Chinese warships, in local waters without informing the government, Panelo said. In explaining the government’s unfriendly manner, Panelo said authorities will stop these unannounced foreign vessels and tell the crew to “move out” of the territorial waters.“Because before we never said anything, we just allowed them and just make protests. But this time we will tell them please get out of our territory. That’s very unfriendly because we have not done it before,” he said.
“Dati naman tayong hindi afraid eh. Kaya lang mapagbigay tayo eh. Friendly nga eh, friendly. But even between friends, there is a time to tell our friends not to do things not deemed to be an act of friendship,” he said.The military earlier confirmed that five Chinese warships recently passed through Sibutu Strait in Tawi-Tawi without informing the country’s authorities.
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