- Chinese Coast Guard stopped Reporter’s Notebook from conducting interviews in the Panatag Shoal in the West Philippine Sea.
- DFA Secretary expressed how useless a diplomatic protest would be.
- Malacañang spokesperson agreed with this opinion.
Malacañang shared their opinion of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) that filing a diplomatic protest against China over its coast guard’s action of prohibiting Reporter’s Notebook from filming in the Panatag Shoal will be a futile exercise.
DFA on incident.
DFA Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. told Unang Balita that filing a diplomatic protest over the incident “is like throwing paper against a brick wall.” According to him, this would give the impression that Philippines is “weak.”
Malacañang on incident.
Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo pointed out that the foreign secretary was correct. In an interview on GMA News TV’s News To Go, he expressed how right Locsin was.
“In the sense na walang mangyayari, tama siya dun… But in the sense na para lang ipakita sa kanila na huwag niyo gawin naman sa amin ‘yan. Sabi nga ni Presidente akala ko ba magkakaibigan tayo di ba? Kung magkakaibigan tayo medyo mag galangan naman tayo.”
Reporter’s Notebook incident.
Chinese Coast Guard stopped the TV crew of GMA Network’s Reporter’s Notebook from conducting interviews in the West Philippine Sea or South China Sea in early November. According to one of the Chinese Coast Guard said the Filipinos cannot proceed “without the permission of China.”
This happened on Thursday, November 8 in Panatag Shoal or Scarborough Shoal in the West Philippine Sea. Despite assurances from the President Rodrigo Duterte and his administration, China may have not been friendly after all.
Jun Veneracion was shooting a documentary for Reporter’s Notebook which should air on Tuesday, November 22. It was the same show that reported about the Chinese Coast Guard confiscated the catch of Filipino fishermen in Panatag Shoal.
“Without the permission of China, you cannot carry out the interview here,” a member of the Chinese Coast Guard told the journalist.
Veneracion only responded with, “But this is within the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines.”
When the journalist sensed that the conversation was going nowhere, he calmly asked the Chinese Coast Guard member to give him and his crew half an hour to pack up. The member added:
“If you don’t leave here, we will make a forced matter.”
Veneracion said, “You need not warn us, Sir.”
