US backs PH plan for sea dispute, says Goldberg

US Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg: Pressing for legal, peaceful and diplomatic solutions. AFP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–The United States has expressed support for the Philippines’ triple action plan to resolve conflicting claims in the South China Sea, saying that it would continue pressing for congruent approaches despite China’s rejection of the two countries’ calls to stop provocative actions in the disputed areas.

“We’re going to press, as the Philippines has, for legal, peaceful and diplomatic solutions to problems in the region,” US Ambassador Philip Goldberg told reporters Tuesday on the sidelines of the Asean Youth Dialogues at the Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon City.

“Our suggestions are aimed at reducing tensions and trying to help the region as it resolves claims in the area. We will continue to press that and urge China and other countries of the region to refrain from taking unilateral actions to assert their claims and to refrain from any provocative acts such as the placement of an oil rig and preventing freedom of navigation,” Goldberg said.

Triple action 

The Philippines proposed the triple action plan during the Asean Ministerial Meeting in Burma over the weekend. It consists of a voluntary cessation to tension-producing activities in the South China Sea, the speedy conclusion of the Code of Conduct, and settlement of disputes through international law.

Reduce tensions 

US Secretary of State John Kerry also said during the Asean meeting that “claimants need to take steps now to lower the temperature.”

“As you saw in Burma, the US and the Philippines are very much in agreement that we should look for ways to reduce tensions, to freeze provocative activities in the South China Sea, West Philippine Sea, so that we are able to better handle the kinds of situations that have come up in the past, all leading to more permanent solutions following the already in place Declaration of Conduct and negotiating the Code of Conduct,” Goldberg said.

In May, China deployed an oil rig in waters claimed by Vietnam, triggering a maritime standoff before the rig was moved two months later. China also reportedly has plans to build lighthouses in some disputed islands.

Congruence of views 

“This triple action plan as we understand it is very close to US views. Secretary of State John Kerry presented the US views and they were very close in terms of trying to freeze provocative activities to prevent any miscalculations, to prevent any confrontations, and to reduce tensions in the region,” Goldberg said.

“That is very much a congruence of views,” the ambassador added.

“We want those claims to be resolved in a way that is consistent with international law. We will continue to press our point of view regardless of (China’s) reaction,” he said.