Soft diplomacy with China not working, says Robredo

MANILA, Philippines — The soft approach to diplomacy that the Philippine government is doing to deal with China is not working, Vice President Leni Robredo said on Tuesday, as she urged the administration to convene the National Security Council to formulate the country’s response to the escalating security situation in the disputed region.

 

Speaking during a radio interview with DZRH, Robredo said the respect and the good faith the Philippines was according China were not being reciprocated by Beijing following reports that Chinese missiles and missile system had been installed on three of its reclaimed outposts in the South China Sea.

 

“We are showing soft diplomacy. Isn’t this the decision of our government when the (arbitral ruling) was released. It seems this is not working because the respect we are showing is not being reciprocated,” Robredo said in Filipino during the interview.

 

“It’s always said that diplomacy should be reciprocal. What I want to say is the good faith by one party should also be demonstrated by the other party,” she added.

 

 

Robredo said that at the very least the government should file a diplomatic protest and manifest its opposition to Chinese militarization of the disputed territories.

 

The vice president, who belongs to the former ruling Liberal Party, said that convening the National Security Council could help the government formulate a more “decisive” response to the South China Sea issue.

 

“It will help in crafting a decision, the decision will become more decisive in the sense that we know where we are going and we will benefit from the wisdom of those who have become before us,” Robredo said.

 

READ: Philippines still verifying missiles in Spratlys amid China's confirmation

 

Aside from convening the National Security Council and filing a diplomatic protest, the vice president said that the government should also use the 2016 arbitral ruling by a United Nations-backed body invalidating much of China’s claim to the disputed region to muster international support to the Philippine position.

 

“The problem is we cannot solicit help because those we are turning to for support can’t see that we are steadfast in opposing,” the vice president said.

 

It was reported last week that China put anti-ship cruise missiles and surface-to-air missile systems on three of its artificial islands in the South China Sea.

 

The administration had argued that the militarization of the dispute was already under way even before President Rodrigo Duterte took power in June 2016 despite evidence that much of the construction work was done under the current government. 

 

The Palace, meanwhile, has vacillated in its statements on the issue, one day saying that Filipino officials were verifying the presence of missiles in the region and another telling reporters that it did not have the capability to independently check the authenticity of the reports.

 

Robredo said that she was “concerned” over the missile deployment and the presence of military plane in the region, which is within the country’s exclusive economic zone.

 

She told the radio station that many of the points discussed during the NSC meeting called after the release of the decision in 2016 were not followed.

 

The Philippines under Duterte has tried to forge closer ties to China in an effort to court Chinese money and investments to the local economy, a stark contrast to the frosty relations between Manila and Beijing under former President Benigno Aquino III.

 

Duterte, the country’s commander-in-chief, has been criticized for his tepid response to China’s aggressive actions in the South China Sea, through which $3 trillion of trade annually passes, and even claimed that Beijing would protect the country.