Photo downloaded from www.ops.gov.ph
On Executive Secretary Ed Ermita’s confirmation that China indeed expressed objection to the House bill on archipelagic baselines, and in order to somehow indirectly authenticate the unsigned document “Talking Points” which supposedly emanated from the office of Philippine Ambassador to China Sonia Bradley and which stated “China has indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha Islands…”etc. (mediamen are not doing their job! they’re supposed to verify the authenticity of the document), i looked at the language and at how the Chinese claim is officially worded in their official sites.
Indeed, these are the exact words that China uses, word-for-word, in its official claims. Here are samples:
From gov.cn, the Chinese government’s official web portal at www.english.gov.cn
Quote “FM press briefing on Feb. 5 (full text)
(Photo downloaded from www.english.gov.cn)
Quote “GOV.cn Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Quote “On the afternoon of Feb. 5, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Liu Jianchao held a regular press conference and answered questions on the dumplings incident which happened in Japan, the DPRK nuclear issue, the Nansha Islands, the gas field in the East China Sea, the evacuation of the Chinese citizens out of Chad, the snow storm in South China and etc
Quote “Q: Chen Shuibian visited the Taiping Island of the Nansha Islands. Do you have any comment? Some U.S. Democratic congressmen called for further pressure on China over trade protectionism. Do you view it as an tactic during the election year?
Quote “A: As to your first question, I expounded on our position at the briefing last Thursday. China has indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha Islands and adjacent waters. Taiwan is an inseparable part of the Chinese territory. China is willing to solve the South China Sea disputes through friendly consultation with relevant countries and work with them to safeguard peace and stability there.
Quote “As to your second question, we always believe that the trade and economic cooperation between China and the United States brings enormous benefits to both countries. Trade problems should be settled through dialogue and consultation on the basis of mutual respect and equality. I suggest you referring your specific question to the Ministry of Commerce.” Closed-quote. (underscoring supplied).
And another sample:
From the website of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Republic of Indonesia at www.id.china-embassy.org/eng
Quote “Jurisprudential Evidence to Support China’s Sovereignty over the Nansha Islands
Quote “After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the Nansha Islands were incorporated into Guangdong Province and Hainan Province successively and the Chinese Government has all along maintained China’s sovereignty over the Nansha Islands and taken effective actions for that.
Quote “In view of all this, the Chinese Government has indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha Islands. Some countries have claimed sovereignty of these islands on the ground that these islands are within their continental shelves or exclusive economic zones. According to international law and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, maritime rights and interests should be based on territorial sovereignty for the former derives from the latter. No country should be allowed to extend its maritime jurisdiction to the territories of other countries, still less should it be allowed to invade and occupy other’s territory on the ground of exclusive economic zones or the continental shelves. All in all, any action by any country with regard to the islets, islands or reefs of the Nansha Islands, military or otherwise, constitutes encroachment of China’s territorial sovereignty. It is illegal and null and void according to international law. It can in no way serve as a basis for a country’s territorial claim, nor can it change China’s indisputable legal status as having sovereignty over the Nansha Islands.” Closed-quote.
There. We’ve somehow indirectly authenticated the document “Talking Points” by authenticating the language (because mediamen are not doing their job!) The words “China has indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha islands, …etc.” is uniformly used in the official statements of China on the Kalayaan islands in their official communication.
Since this is how China uniformly words its official claims in public, there is nothing wrong if the Department of Foreign Affairs authenticated the document “Talking Points” as having been written by China, EXCEPT that they were not authorized by the other party and the meetings were perhaps confidential.
To be fair, China said “indisputable…” not undisputed; because those islets are disputed territory.
Plus, the Executive Secretary confirmed the objection.
Don’t the DFA people, Malacañang, Lakas, Kampi, Congress, somehow feel armtwisted?
Or, was it something sweeter than armtwisting? Billions sweeter.
