Senator Leila de Lima filed a resolution urging President Rodrigo Duterte to “exert all legal and diplomatic actions” against China, following the continued presence of at least 240 of its military ships in the West Philippine Sea.

The opposition senator – who remained in jail for what she has described as trumped-up drug charges against her – filed Proposed Senate Resolution (PSR) No. 694 on Monday, April 12, but a copy was sent to reporters on Wednesday, April 14. 

In her resolution, De Lima wanted the Senate to formally urge the executive branch of government to “exert all legal and diplomatic actions on the Chinese government in asserting Philippine sovereignty and sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea.”

De Lima said this included invoking the 2016 Hague tribunal ruling that junked China’s expansive claim over the South China Sea. 

“In order for the State to fulfill its mandate of protecting and upholding Philippine sovereignty, it is imperative that the government exhaust any and all legal remedies, including invoking the 2016 PCA (Permanent Court of Arbitration) ruling, in order to be more forceful in asserting our sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea,” said De Lima.

The West Philippine Sea is a part of the South China Sea that belongs to the Philippines, but which China insists on claiming as its own.

Since April 5, the Philippines has lodged daily diplomatic protests against China over the lingering presence of its ships in the West Philippine Sea. It vowed one would be filed “every day” so long as China’s vessels remained in Philippine waters.

But De Lima believed daily diplomatic protests against China were not enough, since the regional giant tended to “play deaf, dumb, and blind.”

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She then slammed anew Duterte’s pacifist view on China’s unsanctioned incursion in the West Philippine Sea. 

“Silence and softness, if not inaction on the part of our President on a clear breach of our sovereignty, only serves to weaken our territorial integrity for future generations,” said De Lima. 

Despite the Philippines winning its historic tribunal case against China in 2016, no less than Duterte himself has downplayed this victory numerous times.

Duterte claimed that insisting on the Philippines’ legal triumph would only spark war with the regional giant. 

But critics, including other senators, have said the Philippines can push to forge stronger alliances with other foreign nations to put more pressure on China to leave the West Philippine Sea.

If the Senate adopts De Lima’s PSR 694, the document would merely express the “sense” of the chamber. It will not compel Duterte to do any actions, as a mere resolution will not have the full force and effect of the law.

Read a full copy of PSR 694 below:

– Rappler.com