Albright: UN ruling on SCS to remain in the books

MANILA, Philippines - The landmark ruling on the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) favoring the Philippines does not get removed from the books and would be useful in certain periods, former US secretary of state Madeleine Albright said on Wednesday.

“I think it was the previous government that asked for that landmark decision. It doesn’t get removed from the books. It’s there,” she stressed when asked about President Duterte’s decision to set aside the arbitral ruling in the meantime.

The UN-backed arbitral tribunal based in The Hague ruled on July 12, 2016 that China’s nine-dash line claim does not have legal basis and that Beijing violated its commitment under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) by building artificial islands in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone. 

China has opposed and refused to honor the tribunal ruling, calling it illegal and invalid.

“It doesn’t mean the decision is overtaken by events. It’s there. I believe it’ll be useful in certain period,” Albright said at the ANC Forum on Global Governance and World Economy at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza hotel.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the President’s priority of regional peace and stability has led to the healthy environment of dialogue, cooperation and development with China and other Asian neighbors.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said he is willing to discuss with former top diplomat Albert del Rosario and Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio the South China Sea issue.

Del Rosario has urged the Philippines to “reassume” leadership and ensure that the arbitral ruling would be an integral part of the Code of Conduct (COC) framework that is being finalized.

He said Filipinos should be proud of the Philippines’ leadership on this issue, noting that “it was a leadership that began from a lonely place but, because the country stood for what is right, the Philippines also gained the respect of the responsible community of nations.”

Carpio said the Philippines has “dropped the ball” on its 2016 arbitration victory against Beijing on the South China Sea dispute. 

Cayetano said he was happy that Albright called that portion of the South China Sea that was ruled on by the arbitral tribunal in 2016 as the West Philippine Sea and not South China Sea.

“We should call it West Philippine Sea,” Albright was quoted as saying.

Albright emphasized the significance of the decision and that the US is concerned about freedom of the seas and navigation.

Brooch diplomacy

Meanwhile, Albright said she would wear a pin that shows a “very active man with a loudspeaker” if given the chance to meet President Duterte. Former US president Barack Obama last year described Duterte’s language as “colorful.”

Albright is known for using her brooches to express her moods and opinions. On good days, she would wear flowers, butterflies and balloons, and all kinds of bugs and carnivorous animals on bad days.

On Wednesday, Albright wore a sunburst-like pin that she said represented sunshinefor optimism and waste materials from this region as a sign of respect for the country.

Albright revealed that she started wearing brooches when she worked at the United Nations and has done it throughout her diplomatic career – including wearing a bug pin to send a message against Russia’s wiretapping and a snake pin when the Iraqi media described her as an “unparalleled serpent.”

“They were bugging the State Department. I found a bug (pin) and I wore this huge bug, a very useful diplomatic tool,” she added.

The Smithsonian Castle opened in June 2010 the Madeleine Albright Collection –an exhibit that features more than 200 brooches.