Groups mark Araw ng Kagitingan with protest vs. ‘militarization’ of WPS

Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) and allied groups on Tuesday, Araw ng Kagitingan (Day of Valor), called on China and the United States to stop the alleged militarization of the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

The protesters gathered at the Chinese Consulate in Makati City to denounce China’s incursion into the Philippines’ maritime territories and its harassment of Filipino fisherfolk and ships in WPS.

“We call on China to move out of the West Philippine Sea, dismantle its illegal structures, recognize the 2016 arbitral ruling, and to stop harassing Filipino fisherfolk and Philippine supply missions,” Bayan said in a statement.

At the same time, they also called on “US-led forces” to “leave the Philippines and stop using the country to stoke imperialist conflicts in the region.”

The US has been a very vocal supporter of the Philippines in its conflict with China regarding WPS.

According to Bayan, the protest is held on Day of Valor to symbolize the commitment of Filipinos to resist foreign aggressors.  

The Day of Valor commemorates the Fall of Bataan, which happened on April 9, 1942, to remember the thousands of Filipinos who dedicated their lives to free the Philippines during World War II.

“We also call for the demilitarization of the West Philippine Sea. Our legitimate resistance against Chinese aggression should not lead to foreign military buildup and the ‘recolonization’ of the Philippines through the installation of American military facilities across the country,” Bayan said.

According to the group, the Philippines should not allow itself to be “a cannon fodder in the inter-imperialist rivalry and war between China and the US.”

GMA News Online has sought comment from China and US embassies as well as Malacañang about the matter but they have yet to provide a statement as of posting time.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion in annual ship commerce. Its territorial claims overlap with those of the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei.

Parts of the waters within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone have been renamed as West Philippine Sea.

In 2016, an international arbitration tribunal in The Hague said China’s claims had no legal basis, a decision that Beijing has rejected.

The Philippines and the US have been conducting joint maritime activities in the WPS amid China’s aggression in the area.

In February 2023, the Philippines and the US agreed to designate four new EDCA sites in strategic areas of the country with the aim of accelerating the full implementation of the agreement.

Signed in 2014, EDCA, or the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, grants US troops access to designated Philippine military facilities, allows them to build facilities and preposition equipment, aircraft, and vessels.

New EDCA sites would also be established in Naval Base Camilo Osias in Sta Ana, Cagayan; Lal-lo Airport in Lal-lo, Cagayan; Camp Melchor Dela Cruz in Gamu, Isabela; and Balabac Island in Palawan.  —Joviland Rita/KBK, GMA Integrated News