HINIMOK ng ilang senador ang gobyerno na huwag magpakita ng anumang senyales ng pagsukot sa territorial dispute sa West Philippine Sea.

Sinabi ni Senador Grace Poe na dapat ipakita ng pamahalaan na ginagawa nito ang lahat ng opsyon upang ipaglaban ang soberanya sa WPS, kasama na ang paghingi ng suporta sa ibang mga kaalyadong bansa upang protektahan ang natural resources.

“We should raise the Philippine flag in our territory, not the white flag of surrender,” saad ni Poe.

“We should bring more international attention to the issue. By merely being critical of the massing up of foreign vessels in the West Philippine Sea, we’ve already seen movement among our allies,” dagdag ng senador.

Sinabi ng senador na marami pang opsyon ang gobyerno sa pagharap sa territorial dispute kasabay ng papuri sa mga malalakas na pahayag ng Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) at Department of National Defense (DND) na nagiging epektibo upang mabawasan ang Chinese vessels sa lugar.

Tulad naman ni Poe, naniniwala si Senador Panfilo Lacson na hindi dapat magparamdam ng maling senyales ang gobyerno na isinusuko nito ang laban sa naturang teritoryo.

“He’s (Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte) the leader of our country and he’s the commander-in-chief of our armed forces. He can think of anything and speak about anything except surrender,” diin ni Lacson.

“Remember, we have an arbitral ruling in our favor and it’s permanent although it’s unenforceable. There are so many things to think about except surrender. We cannot wave the white flag, so to speak,” dagdag ng senador.

“If the officers and men of the AFP would take it that way, it could be disastrous to Philippine sovereignty,” diin pa nito.

Maaari anyang makipag-alyansa ang bansa sa ibang bansa tulad ng Japan na may territorial issue din laban sa China.

“Let’s work along that line. We should not feel we’re alone. We cannot really win a war against China. Population-wise less than 1/10 tayo ng China. And military-wise, talagang no contest. But why would we sulk in a corner and think along that line when there are stronger countries, even Europe, they are willing to assist us through the European Union?” diin pa ng senador. (DANG SAMSON-GARCIA)