DFA shrugs off war warnings by Chinese media

Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman and Assistant Secretary Charles Jose. AFP FILE PHOTO

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Tuesday dismissed warnings in the Chinese state media of the inevitability of war should the United States refuse to back down from the South China Sea disputes.

“Any talk of war is unfounded and irresponsible. Countries involved in the South China Sea disputes must strive to settle their differences in a peaceful manner and in accordance with international law including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,” DFA spokesman Charles Jose said in a news conference.

In its editorial, a state-run tabloid, the Global Times, said China was determined to complete its reclamation works in the South China Sea, but it must prepare for a conflict with the United States.

It said “a US-China war is inevitable” if the United States wants China to stop its activities.

A US spy plane recently flew over artificial islands that China had been building on disputed waters in the South China Sea. Washington has said it will continue its sea and air patrols in the area. President Aquino has said that the Philippines will do the same, according to international law.

“We don’t recognize the sovereignty of China over these areas,” Jose said.

Washington’s recent actions in the South China sea are in line with its policy of “rebalancing to Asia,” he said.

“The US and other responsible members of the international community have a legitimate interest in what is happening in the South China Sea, because at stake right now are freedom of navigation, the unimpeded flow of commerce and the destruction of marine environment and ecosystem,” Jose said.

The Philippines has a pending arbitration case against China at the Hague-based arbitral tribunal which sought to clarify its maritime entitlements. Oral hearings on the case have been set for July despite the refusal of China to participate in the proceedings.

The Philippines remains true to its diplomatic approach in resolving the sea row with China, Jose said, pointing as an example to a seminar-workshop it hosted last week in Makati City on the implementation of the 2002 Asean-China Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC).

Some 120 officials from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China, as well as members from the academe and policy think tanks joined the discussions.

One of the topics was “how provisions of the DOC are to be operationalized, including … the nonuse of force and the exercise of self-restraint among parties to the dispute,” Jose said.

The results of the gathering will be reported to the next meeting of the Asean-China joint working group, which is tasked to hold in-depth discussions for the crafting of the binding code of conduct in the South China Sea.