MANILA, Philippines—After saying that the reported China’s harassment of a Filipino-manned commercial vessel near Scarborough Shoal is not the Philippines’ concern, presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo is now claiming that invoking the country’s sovereign rights over the incident would affect the employment of Filipino seafarers and mariners. This was Panelo’s response to maritime law expert Jay Batongbacal’s series of tweets that slammed as “ill-advised” his reaction to the incident. ADVERTISEMENTREAD: Palace condemned for silence over China harassment on Scarborough ShoalPanelo downplayed the incident involving the Greek-owned oil tanker Green Aura, noting that the ship “just happened” to have a Filipino captain. Panelo likewise pointed out that the Philippines cannot deprive the country of being represented by the oil tanker of its right to protect its own ship. Such a process does not comprise a Filipino seaman engaging in a word war with an agent of China.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer November 04, 2019 12:00 UTC