Abide by UN pact, China told
MANILA, Philippines—In the face of Beijing’s recalcitrant rejection of Philippine protests over its alleged illegal incursions into the country’s territorial waters, officials on Thursday called on China and other claimants to the Spratly island group to abide by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos).
“[The] Unclos says when you own an island, you own its adjacent waters,” said Assistant Secretary J. Eduardo Malaya, the spokesperson of the Department of Foreign Affairs.
In Brunei, where he was wrapping up a two-day working visit, President Aquino stressed the need for a multilateral approach to settle the Spratlys dispute.
Speaking to Philippine media late Wednesday, Mr. Aquino said the government was completing all the necessary data on “six or seven incidents happening after Feb. 25” for presentation to the Chinese government and the UN.
“Our framework is the Unclos, which sets rules on who owns what,” he said.
In their discussions about the Spratlys, Mr. Aquino and Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah committed to pursuing a peaceful resolution to the territorial dispute.
Mr. Aquino urged claimant countries to lay down a more detailed code of conduct, saying a 2002 agreement has yet to gain headway.
“Why do we have to fight or increase this tension when it profits nobody?” he said.
He also said there was a need for Southeast Asian nations to talk to China as a bloc, as this was more effective than the bilateral approach, a matter that he discussed with Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie when the latter visited Manila last week.
No contest
But the President, who earlier warned of an arms race in the region if the Chinese incursions continued, admitted that a duel with China would be a “no contest” for the Philippines.
“We do not want to show force because they are at a great advantage. I’ll say it again: Even in a boxing match, there’s one and a half billion of them, we’re barely 100 million,” Mr. Aquino said.
The Chinese Embassy in Manila on Thursday rejected a formal Philippine protest to the Chinese mission about recent Chinese military activity in disputed waters of the South China Sea and Chinese plans to anchor an oil rig there next month.
“The reported ‘incursions of Chinese ships’ is not true,” said the embassy in a statement.
Explanation
The DFA on Tuesday summoned the Chinese charges d’affaires and demanded an explanation for a Philippine military report that Chinese People’s Liberation Army naval vessels had unloaded building materials and installed a number of posts and a buoy last month near Iroquois Reef and Amy Douglas Bank, both of which the Philippines claims.
It said both outcrops were located between the major Philippine island of Palawan and the disputed Spratly island chain in the South China Sea.
However, the Chinese Embassy gave a different account.
“It’s only China’s marine research ship conducting normal maritime research activities in the South China Sea,” it said of the Philippine reports of Chinese military vessels near the outcrops.
“China holds a clear and consistent position on the South China Sea issue,” it added.
In Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hong Lei told a news briefing on Thursday that it was perfectly normal for Chinese companies to conduct “economic activities” in the South China Sea.
Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam all lay claim to all or part of the Spratlys, which are thought to be rich in oil reserves.
Malaya said the DFA was “trying to address” the challenges posed by the “very complex situation in the South China Sea.”
In March, the Philippines complained that Chinese patrol boats had harassed a Philippine oil exploration vessel in disputed waters near the Spratlys.
It subsequently filed a formal protest at the United Nations over China’s claims to the Spratly islands and adjacent South China Sea waters.
A Filipino diplomat who asked not to be named on Thursday said the “increased presence and activities” of the Chinese in the West Philippine Sea called for a “more binding code of conduct of parties in the South China Sea.”
“Without rules, he who has might prevails,” the diplomat said. With AFP and Reuters
