Ex-presidents on China talks: Proceed with caution

MANILA, Philippines - Proceed with caution.

This was the advice of four past presidents on the plan of the Duterte administration to talk with China, following the ruling of the UN-backed tribunal favoring the Philippines in the South China Sea dispute.

Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said former presidents Fidel Ramos, Joseph Estrada, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Benigno Aquino III had advised the National Security Council to tackle the issue with “caution” and “restraint.”

While the award of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) is in favor of the Philippines, Abella said the government will be using the ruling but it will not be the sole basis for talks with China.

“This does not run counter to what President Duterte said, that although we won the arbitration, we will not flaunt it. In other words... our position basically is that we stand on the ruling. However, we will proceed diplomatically,” Abella said.

During the NSC meeting on Wednesday, Abella said Aquino had indicated how to deal with the issue. It was during Aquino’s term when the government decided to bring the matter before the PCA.

China’s claims to almost the whole of the strategically vital South China Sea and the West Philippine Sea are embodied in a nine-dash line dating from 1940s maps, and it has built up a series of artificial islands capable of supporting military operations.

But when the Philippines, a rival claimant, asked the UN-backed PCA tribunal to rule on issues relating to the dispute, it ruled there was no legal foundation for China’s claim and ambitions to control the entire sea and the islands in it.

Abella said the Philippines plans to talk with China on the basis of common agenda, instead of taking an adversarial stance. 

President Duterte has given the policy directive to Ramos as special envoy to China, Abella said.

“Basically, this. They are not necessarily instructions but these are, I suppose, principles of wisdom about how to go about the conversation, that you know they can start on the things that we agree on and not necessarily begin in an adversarial or insistent position,” Abella said.

“So basically, it is a very diplomatic rule. It’s not a confrontation,” he added.

Abella said the Philippines has agreed to pursue diplomatic talks with China with the PCA ruling in mind.

“Diplomatically, I’m just telling you that’s what they can begin with… If circumstances allowed, they can talk about it,” he said.

Kerry visit

During his visit to Manila earlier this week, US Secretary of State John Kerry underscored “the value that the United States places on the alliance and the true friendship and relationship” with the Philippines.

The US-Filipino relationship has withstood the test of time, Kerry said. 

But he also stressed that the US – not being a claimant – does not take a position on the competing sovereignty claims in the South China Sea.

Kerry also urged all claimants “to exercise restraint and to work to reduce tensions” in the region.

During Kerry’s visit, Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. said the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) with the US

should not be equated as assistance to boost the country’s defense system against China.