Philippines to unveil ‘major initiative’ to settle Spratlys dispute—DFA

An aerial view shows an islet in the disputed Spratly Group of Islands. PHILIP TUBEZA/INQUIRER

MANILA, Philippines—President Benigno Aquino and US President Barack Obama are co-chairing a meeting of Southeast Asian and American leaders in next week’s 19th Association of Southeast Nations Summit in Indonesia, where the Philippines will unveil a “major initiative” to solve the Spratlys dispute, according to government officials.

Aquino and Obama will share the stage when they coordinate the 3rd Asean-United States of America Leaders’ Meeting on the second day of the three-day summit which will run from November 17 to 19 in Bali.

“We are co-coordinator of the Asean-US Leaders’ Meeting. So as co-coordinator, of course the President will be talking with the US President,” Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Erlinda Basilio said in a Malacañang briefing.  She did not rule out a bilateral meeting between the two leaders.

“They have to talk about it—how they go about the meeting and how they will best ensure that the joint declaration that the leaders will come up with will enjoy the full support of everybody. It’s important for both leaders to talk and discuss all these procedural substantive matters,” she said.

Topping the agenda in the hour-long meeting on Friday next week would be  a joint action plan on science and technology, education, economy, security, among others, officials said.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon is also expected to attend the Asean-US Summit. The other subsidiary meetings coinciding with the Asean summit are the Asean-China Commemorative Summit, Asean-Japan Summit, Asean-Republic of Korea Summit, Asean Plus Three Summit, and 6th East Asia Summit, among others.

Aquino will push anew for the framework to turn the West Philippine Sea to a Zone of Peace, Freedom, Friendship and Cooperation (ZoPFFC/C), which he introduced at the 18th Asean summit, at the upcoming summit and related summits, Basilio said.

“So in the case of the Zone of Peace, Freedom, Friendship and Cooperation and Maritime Security, for instance, this will become prominent in his discussions during the East Asia Summit and also during the Asean Summit,” she said.

The framework for ZoPFF/C entails a segregation of disputed relevant features from the undisputed waters of the South China Sea consistent with UN Convention on the Law of the Seas. Mr. Aquino has described ZoPFF/C as a modality to ensure that “what is ours is ours, and with what is disputed, we can work towards joint cooperation.”

The Spratlys, believed to be atop vast oil and gas reserves, are claimed in part or entirely by China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

Basilio said the framework would be the next step after the finalization of the Guidelines on the Implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) toward achieving peace and prosperity in the region.

“It will not be the last effort. We’ll keep on harping on it until we — you know, it’s like a stone, you know, a constant pour of water will certainly erode however hard the rock is. We will try to enlighten them on the merits of our proposal and we will continue to do so because the President has enunciated a rules-based regime and the importance of international law particularly the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea as well as the peaceful settlement of disputes and have our recourse to the various means that the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea offers,’’ she said.

She said this would be “an actionable framework.’’

Basilio said Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario would also tackle the framework during the Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Bali, but confirmed reports that he would propose a “major initiative” to better engage China in the dialogue to resolve the Spratlys dispute.

“In Bali, I’ll be delivering his statement but he will talk to you about this proposal of his which, in our view, is very important,’’ she said. She admitted that this would take off from the ZoPFF/C, but deferred to Del Rosario to disclose the salient points.

“I think the forthcoming proposal which will be initiated by the Secretary will make it easier for China to come around and, you know, sit down and discuss the proposal (ZoPFF/C) with us,’’ she added.

“So we are confident that they will be able to realize the significance of sitting down in accordance with the tenets of Asean… We want to see Asean leadership emerging in the forthcoming initiative of the Philippines in this regard so Asean must show its leadership, because you always hear about Asean centrality. Now is the time for Asean to take up the challenge of leading the way towards a peaceful resolution of the competing claims in the South China Sea by bringing in, you know, all the parties concerned.’’

During the summit and related summits, Mr. Aquino would also advocate the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, food security, disaster management, connectivity, biodiversity, migrant workers’ protection, drug trafficking, human rights, human trafficking and education.

Asean leaders are set to sign the Bali Declaration on Asean Community in a Global Community of Nations, while foreign ministers will ink the agreement on the establishment of the Asean Coordinating Center for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management and the Declaration on Asean Unity in Cultural Diversity Toward Strengthening the Asean Community.