MANILA – Several business groups have expressed their support to Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, other government officials, and various groups calling on China to withdraw their vessels from Julian Felipe Reef in the West Philippine Sea.
“Our exclusive right over the Julian Felipe Reef carries with it the utilization of, and the obligation to protect, its economic benefits, such as its rich marine life and mineral deposits, for the well-being of each and every Filipino,” the business groups said in a joint statement released Wednesday.
These groups include the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Management Association of the Philippines, Makati Business Club, Bishops-Businessmen’s Conference for Human Development, Filipina CEO Circle, Judicial Reform Initiative, Cebu Business Club, and Iloilo Business Club, Inc.
According to the National Task Force for West Philippine Sea, there is presence of around 200 Chinese vessels at the Julian Felipe Reef, which is within the country’s exclusive economic zone.
“Julian Felipe Reef is historically and by law undisputed Philippines territory, as was most clearly established in the 2016 ruling based on the UN Convention on the Law of the Seas,” the business groups added.
They said the Philippines and China had been under colonizers, who exploited the natural resources of the nations.
As China has strong economic and military power, the business groups also called on the neighboring country “to refrain from being an imperial power”.
“In 1974, Deng Xiaoping said ‘If one day China should change her color and turn into a superpower, if she too should play the tyrant in the world and everywhere subject others to her bullying, aggression and exploitation, the people of the world should expose it, oppose it and work together with the Chinese people to overthrow it’,” the business groups said in their statement.
They added the region will achieve prosperity for all only through mutual respect on sovereignty and peaceful coexistence. (PNA)
