Phl allies support arbitration with China

MANILA, Philippines - The country’s allies, including the United States, are supporting the arbitration proceedings the government has initiated against China challenging the latter’s claim in the South China Sea and West Philippine Sea, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said yesterday.

Besides the US, he said the other allies that have expressed support for the arbitration process include Canada, Australia, and the European community.

“We hope arbitration will proceed smoothly,” he told a House appropriations committee hearing yesterday.

Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said the support of the international community for the proceedings in Geneva, Switzerland should favor the government’s case against China.

“The world community will always be for settling disputes in accordance with the rule of law,” he said.

Del Rosario also defended the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) the country recently signed with the US.

Responding to questions raised by Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares, he said EDCA “complies with and does not circumvent the Constitution.”

He said the tax-free privilege the US military would enjoy under the agreement is a standard feature of any arrangement where there is “mutuality of benefits.”

As for the issue of the US soldiers’ use of radio frequencies, Del Rosario said the US military would just share the radio spectrum of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for the duration of the joint exercises.

“There is no need for them to obtain a congressional franchise because they will not set up a transmitting station for commercial purposes,” he added.

Colmenares questioned why EDCA exempts the US military from paying taxes on their utility bills.

“Why should an ordinary Filipino pay a 12-percent value added tax on his electricity bill and US soldiers would not be required to pay the same tax on their electricity consumption?” he asked.

As for the American military’s use of telecommunications frequencies, he said the agreement allows them to set up their own telecoms system and facilities separate from what the AFP is using.

Colmenares said another “unfairness” in the agreement is a provision exempting American soldiers involved in EDCA activities from “passport and visa requirements,” even as their Filipino counterparts are required not only to have their passports but to obtain visas as well.

“This is clearly unfair to us Filipinos,” he said.

Del Rosario said this was the arrangement agreed upon by the two countries because US troops participate in joint exercises in the Philippines in large numbers, while there are only a few Filipino soldiers going to the US for similar activities and training. 

Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said the finalization of a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea and a prompt decision by the arbitral tribunal on Manila’s case would greatly boost efforts to resolve the maritime dispute with China.

“The quest for peace is behind our calling for the conclusion of a Code of Conduct in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) and in bringing the issue (territorial dispute) before the arbitral tribunal,” Gazmin told defense and military officials at Camp Aguinaldo during ceremonies marking National Peace Consciousness month yesterday. – With Jaime Laude