BAGUIO CITY – The European Union (EU) and its member states fully supports the Philippines in pursuing the international rules-based order over the West Philippine Sea amidst the worsening aggression of China over the past several years.
EU Head Ambassador Massimo Santoro said that countries must always adhere to the international rules-based order conduct on their territories and on international waters so as not to ignite conflicts among nations.
The EU official claimed that like in the ongoing Russian and Ukraine war, the EU and its member states stood firm on the adherence of the feuding countries to the international rules-based order to peacefully settle their conflict to avoid the occurrence of wars that are not helpful in sustaining world peace.
According to him, the Philippines has been consistent in supporting introduced in the United Nations (UN) calling for peaceful and rules-based settlement of disputes that is why the country deserves the needed support from the international community relative to the aggressing being committed by China in the West Philippine Sea.
Santoro said that the Philippines enjoys the support of the international community on its quest for rule-based conduct in the West Philippine Sea because it is backed by the 2016 arbitral ruling of the UN that upheld the country’s exclusive economic zone over the said body of water.
Numerous countries had been vehemently condemning the aggression being done by the Chinese Coast Guard on the various vessels of the Philippine Coast Guard conducting route maritime patrol over the country’s exclusive economic zone in the West Philippine Sea.
Further, The Chinese Coast Guard and militia vessels have been most of the time found to have encroached on the country’s exclusive economic zone and had been subjected to radio challenges by the PCG vessels but such efforts seem to be in vain.
The EU ambassadors had a three-day visit to the city to assess and evaluate the implementation of EU-funded green economy, child labor and endeavors related to justice for the benefit of looking into avenues of strengthening the EU-Philippines cooperation. By Dexter A. See