Gazmin admits mistake on Scarborough blocks

MANILA, Phillippines – “The President is right,” said Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin. The concrete blocks found in Panatag Shoal (Scarborough) are old and it’s not clear who placed them there. 

Gazmin corrected his earlier statements that China is planning constructions in the shoal, a rocky sandbar located off the coast of Zambales. (READ: China starts construction in Panatag and China put 75 blocks in Scarborough)

“There are barnacles [found in the concrete blocks] meaning they’re old. But this is new to us because we only saw them recently. It’s possible it was low tide when the photos were taken,” Gazmin explained in a mix of English and Filipino.

The blocks were “newly discovered but not newly installed,” he said.

Gazmin made his claims against China in September during the department’s budget hearing in the House of Representatives, where he showed photos of the concrete blocks. 

The defense chief said the Philippine Navy spotted the blocks for the first time on August 31. A second maritime patrol shows there are a total of 75 concrete blocks in the shoal. 

Gazmin’s revelations almost prompted the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to lodge a protest before the United Nations International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), the international body hearing the arbitration filed by the Philippines against China over the West Philippine Sea. (READ: Hearings on PH, China dispute begin and Chinese construction to bolster case)

But in a surprise statement recently, President Benigno Aquino III contradicted Gazmin’s pronouncements and said there is no proof that China put those blocks there.

Gazmin said the government is now determining who placed the blocks there and when.

The DFA has changed tunes, too. DFA Secretary Albert del Rosario in a press briefing on Thursday said it is not ready to file a diplomatic protest against China over the concrete blocks. (READ: DFA backtracks on protests over Panatag blocks) 

Asked about insinuations that the Philippines overreacted in announcing the presence of concrete blocks, Gazmin said: “Hindi naman sa overreacted, that’s what you found. Ngayon na nakita nating luma, well, paano nailagay ‘yun? In other words nadiskubre ito – bagong diskubre ito pero hindi bago lang lagay.”

(It’s not overreacting, we were just telling what we found. Now that we’ve seen they are old, well, how were they placed there? In other words, these were discovered – newly discovered, but not newly installed.)

The location of Panatag shoal holds huge political and economic significance. Located in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), it is a strategic staging area for military operations. Scientists are also optimistic about the area’s potential oil resources. – Rappler.com