China playing deaf and blind to sea row – DFA chief

Foreign Secretary Albert Del Rosario INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – China continues to play deaf and blind to the brewing problem in the South China Sea despite growing clamor from Southeast Asian countries for a constructive solution that would address tensions, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said Monday.

During the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Ministers Meeting over the weekend, China rejected the Philippines’ “Triple Action Plan” (TAP) which provided three approaches that would calm tensions caused by maritime disputes and overlapping claims in the region believed to be rich in oil and gas resources.

“China opposed it immediately. They should study it before they reject it. If they reject it without studying it, then it looks like China does not recognize that the developments in the South China Sea are creating problems for everyone,” del Rosario told reporters in an interview.

“[It’s like they are saying] ‘What tensions? What problem? There is no problem’. You can’t solve a problem if you don’t recognize that there is one,” he said.

Del Rosario said that when he proposed the TAP before the Asean, there were no objections from any of the member states.

“There were strong voices in favor of this. Everyone agreed that there was a problem [and] we needed to come up with a solution to it,” del Rosario said.

“When I put the TAP on the table, there were no objections. This is unique for Asean that an initiative does not encounter objections. People in Asean understood that we need to do something,” he said.

The TAP involves three approaches to calm tensions: an immediate approach that entails a freeze on all activities in the South China Sea including the reclamation and construction projects China has been doing, an intermediate approach that calls for the implementation of the Asean Declaration of Conduct (DOC), and the final approach which involves the establishment of dispute settlement mechanisms such as arbitration.

China claims nearly the entire South China Sea as part of its territory through its nine-dash line claim that extends very close to the coast of Palawan and coastal provinces in western Luzon. It also overlaps with the country’s 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi however criticized the Philippines for having already filed an arbitration case against China before the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS).

Del Rosario answered saying that he has exhausted all possible means to settle the dispute before the arbitration was filed in January 2013.

“If he looks back at the history of our three-year relations, he can see that we have tried every possible way since the disputes had arisen in the South China Sea to arrive at a political solution,” del Rosario said.

“We tried to do it through Asean, we tried to do it through our partners in the international community, that did not work. Secondly, we tried bilateral consultations. After the Scarborough Shoal incident, we attempted to have 50 bilateral meetings and it was without success,” he said.

This eventually led the Philippines to resort to the legal solution which was arbitration before the International Court, del Rosario added.

“He can’t say that we jumped the gun and went there right away, that’s not a fair statement to make. We followed the process and arbitration is recognized as a friendly act by the United Nations,” del Rosario said.

Adoption in communique

DFA spokesman Charles Jose also said during his regular briefing that despite China’s rejection, Asean had adopted two of the three approaches in the TAP.

“China rejected the TAP however all is not lost. The Asean Minister’s Meeting (AMM) Joint Communique has adopted two of the elements that we are proposing,” Jose said.

“Among Asean members states in general, there is broad support for the TAP,” he said.

The Philippines’ proposal under the TAP is composed of three approaches, the first being the “immediate” approach which calls for a freeze on activities in the South China Sea that would further escalate tensions.

China was recently discovered to be conducting reclamation activities in several reefs and islets, believed to be for the construction of outposts to improve their capabilities. A plan to put up lighthouses in several reefs and islets was also reported by Chinese state media.

“If you will note paragraph 151 [of the Communique], Asean urged all parties concerned to exercise self-restraint, which in essence is similar to our call on actions that escalate tensions,” Jose said.

The full text of the paragraph in the Communique reads: “We urged all parties concerned to exercise self-restraint and avoid actions which would complicate the situation and undermine peace, stability, and security in the South China Sea and to settle disputes through peaceful means, without resorting to the threat or use of force, including friendly dialogue, consultations and negotiations, in accordance with universally recognized principles of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.”

The second approach under TAP, called the “intermediate” approach, is for the expeditious conclusion of a Code of Conduct that would outline the behaviors of countries in the disputed region.

“In paragraph 152, Asean agreed to intensify consultations with China on the DOC and COC, which is also similar to our intermediate approach,” Jose said.

The full paragraph of the Communique reads: “We further stressed the importance of the collective commitments of Asean Member States and China to peace, stability, maritime security and mutual trust in the region and the need to create conditions conducive for the peaceful settlement of disputes. We agreed to intensify consultations with China on measures and mechanisms to ensure and further enhance the full and effective implementation of the DOC in its entirety, particularly Articles 4 and 5 as well as substantive negotiations for the early conclusion of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC). We tasked our Senior Officials to follow up on this matter.”

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