Republic of the Philippines

House of Representatives
Quezon City, Metro Manila

AKBAYAN sa KONGRESO
Room 514, South Wing Building
House of Representatives, Batasang Pambansa
1126 Quezon City, Philippines
Tel: (63-2) 931-5001 loc. 7292
Hon. WALDEN F. BELLO Telefax: (63-2) 931-6575
Representative Email: waldenbello@akbayan.org.ph
AKBAYAN! Citizens’ Action Party Web: www.akbayan.org.ph

8 June 2011

His Excellency LIU JIANCHAO

Ambassador
Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Philippines

Dear Amb. Liu,

On behalf of Akbayan Party, I would like to protest the incursions that the People’s
Liberation Army has been conducting in Philippine waters recently.

We are deeply troubled by reports of naval deployment at the Iroquois Reef- Amy
Douglas Bank, and violence against Filipino fishermen in Jackson Atoll in separate
occasions. And these incidents are only two of the six separate reports of Chinese military
activity in the Western Philippine Sea.

For the record, these locations are well within the 200-nautical mile exclusive
economic zone that international law recognizes to be Philippine territory. The actions of the
People’s Liberation Army in the Western Philippine Sea constitute grave violation of
Philippine sovereignty.

This is also in clear violation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the
South China Sea that both Philippines and the People’s Republic of China are party to. In
2002, the Philippines and China, along with members of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) agreed to resolve the conflicting claims over marine and other natural
resources found in Western Philippine Sea and the adjacent waters in a peaceful manner. It
was in good faith that the Philippines continues to abide by this agreement, and it is this good
faith that the People’s Republic of China has disrespected in its incursions.

In the interest of continuing the process of peacefully resolving the conflicting claims
over natural resources in the Western Philippine Sea and adjacent waters, Akbayan urges the
representatives of the People’s Republic of China to apologize for the violations that it has
committed.

Sincerely yours,

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