"War is not in the agenda. We will lose." -Hon. Neri J. Colmenares on disputes regarding the West Philippine Sea/South China Sea

                “War is not in the agenda. We will lose.” Hon. Neri J. Colmenares declared after having been questioned about his previous statement regarding disputes between the Philippines and China on the West Philippine Sea also known as the South China Sea.

                According to Colmenares’ statement regarding the disputes on the West Philippine Sea/South China Sea, it is necessary for the Philippines to strengthen their forces within the area through rehabilitating the Pag-asa Island Airstrip and through sending additional coastguards and troops.

                Colmenares further clarified that sending a coastguard to the West Philippine Sea/South China Sea would discourage escalations in the conflict with China. According to his statement, the purpose of sending a coastguard is to avoid Chinese incursions and to assure safety within the area.

                “One coast guard will not threaten the Chinese. We don’t want war with China. In fact, we want the issue settled amicably and peacefully.” Colmenares further stated, clarifying that threatening China was not an option to provide a solution to the dispute.

                Colmenares also voiced that having a war against China is impractical because the economy of the Philippines will suffer if conflicts between the two countries will further escalate. He said that the Philippines will not only lose by military defense but economically as well.

                Colmenares also denied lacking resources to send military assistance to guard the West Philippine Sea/South China Sea. He further explained that sending coastguards and additional troops to assure the safety of the area isn’t a huge expense for the Philippine government. 

                He also admitted that the Philippine government is capable of providing the resources needed and that it is important for the issue to be acted upon in order to avoid further conflict between the two countries.

                According to the statement of Colmenares, providing military assistance in the West Philippine Sea/South China Sea would be feasible because it will be easier for the Philippine government to monitor the area.

                 He also stated that the presence of some members of the Arm Forces of the Philippines (AFP) will lessen the aggressiveness of the Chinese. This will reduce the tension between China and the Philippines.

                Colmenares also emphasized that the Philippines should not be intimidated by the Chinese because there are proofs that will justify that the West Philippine Sea/South China Sea is a territory of the country.

                 “Under the international law, we have the historical and legal basis. Historically, that has been the fishing grounds of many of our countrymen for about a more than a hundred years and legally we have already stated a claim and it has already been put to our map.” He said and also added,

                “I don’t see any reason why China which is thrice in as far from the territory would have a bigger historical claim. In any case, if China thinks it has a stronger historical claim then why don’t they go to the tribunal court?”

                Colmenares stated that the China’s claims of the West Philippine Sea/South China Sea would be questionable through geographical basis, considering that the territory that they are claiming is not even close to the area of their land and closer to the Philippines.

                Colmenares also concluded that the reason why China won’t put forward its concerns to the tribunal court is that they are aware of the strong evidence that the Philippines has over the West Philippine Sea/South China

                “China does not invade. The most that it could to is to have a shooting war in the contested area not in the country.” Colmenares said, denying the possibility of war between China and the Philippines to result from the dispute.

                “China will be destroyed if it invades the Philippines. The international community will not allow it to happen. China does not want to endanger their companies abroad. China is powerful because it has a lot of business abroad, but that’s also the source of its vulnerability.” Colmenares added.

                Colmenares also further explained that the only thing China wants is to threaten the Philippines up to an extent and if the Philippines would give in, it would to China. Sea.

                “I don’t think China would want any escalations here. Ang gusto lang ng China ay i-bully ka up to an extent, kapag tumiklop ka, talo ka. Pero hindi ibig sabihin na kapag hindi ka pumayag sa bullying niya ay gigiyerahin ka na niya,” He said.

                Colmenares stated that it is clear that both parties agree that the dispute should be solved amicably. He stated that the issue could be solved through certain procedures such as multilateral bodies and the Tribunal Court and the ASEAN Forum through which parties could address their issue to.

                He also stated that expansion and building airships would be enough to solve the dispute. He explained that the disputes between the Philippines and China regarding the West Philippine Sea/South China Sea could be best resolved through discussions.

                Colmenares explained that discussions through multilateral  bodies or through the Tibunal would initiate mutual respect from both countries and that discussions would further clarify the intentions of the Philippines and China.

                Colmenares also stated that he agrees with current President Benigno Simeon “Noynoy”  Aquino III regarding filing a case to the tribunal court to solve the disputes between China and the Philippines regarding the West Philippine Sea/ South China Sea.

                Colmenares believes that the correct move to resolve the problem is through addressing the issue to the tribunal court.

                However, Colmenares disagrees with Aquino on implementing the policy of using the United States. Colmenares stated that the other countries shouldn’t be involved in the dispute regarding the territory.

                “The United Statess will not help the just to help the Philippines. It depends on the national interest of the U.S.” Colmenares said.

                Colmenares also stated that asking for assistance from the United States would be a dangerous step to solve the issue. According to Colmenares, the Americans are dangerous allies for they have hidden agendas in helping the Philippines.  Colmenares wants to avoid having debts from the United States.