President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered all foreign vessels passing through the Philippines’ territorial waters to notify concerned government authorities and get advance clearance from them, according to presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo.
“To avoid misunderstanding in the future, the President is putting on notice that beginning today, all foreign vessels passing our territorial waters must notify and get clearance from the proper government authority well in advance of the actual passage. Either we get a compliance in a friendly manner or we enforce it in an unfriendly manner,” Panelo said in a statement issued on August 20.
He noted that the order stemmed from the repeated passage without notification by Chinese vessels.
“Even with friends, there’s a time when it is enough,” Panelo added.
It is not clear if the new policy covers commercial vessels, but Association of International Shipping Lines general manager Atty. Maximino Cruz, in a text message to PortCalls, said this “should not be a problem to international container liners.”
“These carriers submit the Notice of Arrival at least 48 hours prior to arrival of the vessel. Many carriers submit the Notice 3 days prior to arrival of vessel,” Cruz explained.
In the past months, there have been a number of reports about several Chinese warships and survey ships supposedly passing through Philippine waters without notifying the government, with some ignoring radio communications from Philippine patrols.
The Department of Foreign Affairs has filed a series of diplomatic protests in response to these incidents.
