Filipino Prelate Sails For Peace In South China Sea

By Ronald O. Reyes 

(UCA News) -- The Philippines and China have agreed to address maritime disputes in the South China Sea a day after an archbishop embarked on a fluvial procession for peace on July 16.

Archbishop Socrates VillegasofLingayen-Dagupanled the voyage off Barangay Cato in Infanta in the Ilocos region in the Philippines on July 16, reiterating the Church’s call for brotherhood between Filipinos and Chinese people.

“The war of government, the war of ideologies and the battle of politics can be won by the brotherhood of people,” Villagas said in a statement on July 16.

“We will pray for both China and the Philippines,” the prelate said.

On July 17, a day after the prayer, the Philippines and China agreed to set up new lines of communication to handle maritime disputes in the South China Sea,Reuterssaid in a report.

"China has always been committed to working with the Philippines to properly address maritime issues through dialogue and consultation," the news agency quoted a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson as saying.

Under an agreement, three new communication platforms would be established to deal with the maritime dispute.

Prayer for China

The archbishop carried a Marian statue and was accompanied by hundreds of devotees and fishermen during the procession.

“Renew our faith and trust in the power of the rosary,” he said during the voyage.

Beijing has been accused of pushing its claims on nearly all the strategically located waterways in the South China Sea, disregarding international law.

The dispute between the Philippines and China continues despite a ruling from the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague that favored the Catholic-majority nation and dismissed much of Beijing’s claims on the South China Sea on July 12, 2016.

China refuses to recognize the order and asserts its claims on much of the sea, which spans the coastsof China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan,Malaysia, Brunei, and Indonesia.

With the active involvement of the US, the warring nations are trying to contain China.

Bishop Napoleon Sipalay Jr. of Alaminos and other Church leaders accompanied the archbishop.

In his homily on July 16, Villegas stressed that “we are not anti-China.”

'Peace from above'

Villegas said the peace of the Philippines “will not come from the hands of superpowers but from the heart of God and the hand of the Immaculate Mother.”

He also prayed for people in China, recalling that the communist country “has thousands of years of civilization in the vast continent of Asia.”

“May it use its civilization to preserve peace and harmony among nations according to the ancient teachings of Chinese wise men,” he said.

Some of its citizens are living “in the darkness of religious persecution,” he said, and prayed that they “receive the light of hope of our Lady’s consoling presence.”

“Amid the trials and pains that the Chinese people endure, day after day, may our Lady who watches over China in Sheshen in Shanghai be their source of hope and love,” Villegas said.

Meanwhile, Caritas Philippines, the church’s humanitarian arm, resolved the issue during a national assembly of social workers on June 24, as it discussed the problems in the disputed territories.

It urged the government and other stakeholders to make “known to all our communities the pressing and urgent issues related to the situation in the West Philippine Sea.”