P-Noy: Phl should be more assertive on Spratly issue

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines should be more assertive in defending its maritime territories especially in the light of China’s more aggressive claims in the West Philippine Sea.

This was stressed by President Aquino in a speech he delivered shortly after coming back from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Cambodia on April 4. Maritime disputes involving some ASEAN countries and China were discussed in the summit.

Aquino said he deemed it best during the summit to stress the importance of the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) given the multilateral claims in the West Philippine Sea that could affect regional stability.

He said it was important for ASEAN to come up with a fair and just agreement on the matter before inviting China to the dialogues.

Aquino said the essence of ASEAN centrality is to give priority to the concerns of its members.

This would be an instrument for promoting peace in the West Philippine Sea and ensuring Philippine sovereignty, he said.

Aquino added there were talks on disaster risk reduction and management and on an ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Management to speed up and strengthen cooperation during disasters.

He said a rice reserve mechanism was also tackled during the summit to ensure supply in case of a shortage.

China has come up with a nine-dash theory that virtually claimed the whole of the West Philippine Sea, including Recto Bank merely 80 miles off Palawan.

Based on reports, Beijing will also release a new map showing its expanded territory.

Cambodia reportedly wanted to bring its diplomatic ally China into the drafting process for the Code but the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam said the bloc should draft it themselves before presenting it to Beijing.

China said the dispute should be resolved peacefully and bilaterally among the countries involved and suggested a regional organization like ASEAN should not take a stance on the dispute.

But the Philippines insisted on a multilateral solution and presented a clear stance that disputed areas and non-disputed areas must be identified and that only disputed areas could be jointly developed.

Aquino said he was optimistic that the Philippines would be heard in the international community.

He said China’s claims had become closer and closer and “what’s next?’

“If you don’t say ‘oops, we have a 200-mile economic zone, you’re already claiming something from our coastline.” What’s the next thing they’ll claim? The other side of Palawan?… I’m a bit being flippant about the response but there really is the expansion of the dispute,” Aquino said. 

Aquino said countries must abide by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and that the Philippines could not enter into joint service contracts to explore the West Philippine Sea without clear determination of its sovereign rights over certain areas.

“How does one access the resource? Whose laws apply, what are dispute mechanisms, dispute-resolving mechanism if you don’t settle the sovereignty issue first? Who gets the royalties, who is responsible for the environment, etcetera, etcetera? So that has to be spelled out.

“And we want to be as reasonable as possible but we cannot accede to something that says, be reasonable by giving everything that’s ours. Giving up everything that’s ours. I think that’s wrong and I am not empowered to do that,” Aquino said.