China has no right to shoo away Philippine ships transporting provisions for soldiers in the Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea. Such action constitutes “a clear and urgent threat to the territorial rights of the Philippines under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea,” or UNCLOS, as our Dept. of Foreign Affairs has stated. This latest action of China show it is really vent on annexing the shoal whether by hook or by crook, not minding any more the laws regarding ownership of the shoal.

What will happen to soldiers who were waiting for their much-needed provisions? They are the lone presence in the shoal and to prevent supplies from reaching them is clearly a human rights violation by China. Soldiers may go without meals for days in battle or elsewhere, but they can easily scrounge for root crops and leaves to survive.

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