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Former Ambassador to Greece, Rigoberto Tiglao. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines–The government of President Benigno Aquino III would be well-advised to implement a more cohesive strategy to resolve its festering territorial disputes with China in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) that would combine a solid stance in all its diplomatic pronouncements, and multilateral negotiations with countries with similar claims on the vast resource-rich waters.
This was suggested by former Ambassador to Greece, Rigoberto Tiglao, in an interview at Radyo Inquirer. “Medyo masyadong maingay ang mga banat natin, tuloy nagkakasubuan, both ang gobyerno natin at ang mga Tsino (“Our statements are bit too strong and direct, as a result, tensions tend to escalate”),” Tiglao told Jay Sonza, host of “Tapatan” a morning show in Radyo Inquirer.
China and the Philippines have swapped diplomatic protests over the Spratly islands, with Filipino officials accusing Chinese forces of intruding into Manila-claimed areas six times since February and of firing shots in at least one incident. Beijing denied the allegation last week, and said it would use violence only when attacked.
The Spratlys, which are believed to be atop vast oil and gas reserves, have long been feared as a potential flash point of armed conflict in Asia.
The chain of barren, largely uninhabited islands, reefs and banks, are claimed wholly by China, Taiwan and Vietnam and partly by the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei.
A former head of the Presidential Management Staff of ex-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Tiglao noted that for the Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines [Liu Jianchao] to issue a strongly-worded statement, “almost lecturing in tone”, to President Aquino last week at the height of the diplomatic tension between the two countries, “means nababahala sila (“they were concerned about the issue”).”
“I think the issuance of uncontrolled press releases, information, without a clear indication that this is the official government position is ill-advised,” Tiglao said. “Bigla na lang uminit ang sagutan. Naglabas ang AFP ng statement na nang-ha-harass ang nga Chinese, tapos sabay turo sa DFA na ‘bahala na kayo dyan’, medyo naguluhan ang mga Tsino (“The AFP issued a statement about Chinese harassment, then passed it to the DFA for comment, the Chinese government was naturally confused about our actual stance”),” he said.
Tiglao added that the Chinese government, from his experience, “runs a tight ship.” Without direct instructions from the home office, a Chinese ambassador cannot just say things on his own.”
Tiglao acknowledged that he is not privy to why the long-standing Spratlys issue suddenly became “hot” between the two governments recently. He noted that even during the time of President Fidel V. Ramos, the subject of who owns the Spratly islands had always been a contentious aspect of the relationship between China and Philippines, with Mr. Ramos going to the extent of sending a boatload of local and foreign journalists to what was then called ‘Mischief Reef’ in the Western Philippine Sea, both to document evidence of Chinese aggression, and deliberately rattle mainland officials as well.
At the time, and I was in that boat, too, we felt that President Ramos was using us as cannon fodder against a very belligerent superpower,” chuckled Tiglao, who used to be Manila’s correspondent to the Far Eastern Economic Review. “But now we see it was a smart gambit. The Chinese did not like it, and we saw for first time the beginning of the diplomatic rupture on this issue,” he said.
“The problem is that the whole issue is unfair because they are a big superpower, and our Philippine navy cannot even reach some of the areas there,” Tiglao said. “So if they claim that their ships, or installations are mere “marine research’ vehicles, we cannot verify these, “wala tayong magawa (“there’s nothing we can do”).”
Tiglao revealed that the Chinese government are “very determined” in their claim to the Spratlys. “They believe these islands are historically theirs, and no doubt they will mobilze resources to keep them if it comes to that,” he said.
Tiglao advised that the Aquino government to neutralize the Chinese government’s aggressiveness by “playing smart” like Vietnam. He explained that the Vietnamese display a decisive, one government posture, while indirectly suggesting multilateral negotiations, “which inevitably draws in the other superpower, the United States.”
On Tuesday, China criticized the US over an American senator’s call for multilateral negotiations to resolve the territorial disputes in the West Philippine Sea.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said only those countries with territorial claims in the vast resource-rich waters should get involved in such discussions.
Hong’s comments were in response to a call by US Senator Jim Webb on Monday for Washington to condemn China’s use of force and facilitate talks on the dispute.
“The US position will always be that China is its biggest geopolitical competitor in the region,” Tiglao said. “ Thus, they will do anything to stop a full-blown, military outpost in the places like the Spratlys. Doon naman takot ang mga Tsino (“That’s the Chinese fear”). They don’t want the Americans to meddle,” he said.
But Tiglao assured that the situation has not reached that point. “For now, para sa mga Amerikano, bahala kayo dyan mag-asaran (“For now, as far as the Americans are concerned, you can exchange as much tough talk as you want”),” he said.
In a related development, President Benigno Aquino, who had also accused China of harassment at sea, said the American military presence deters aggression in the area.
“Perhaps the presence of our treaty partner, which is the United States of America, ensures that all of us will have freedom of navigation, will conform to international law,” Aquino told a news conference Tuesday.
Washington irked China last year by asserting that the US had a national security interest in the peaceful resolution of disputes in the West Philippine Sea, where several nations and territories have competing claims. China rejects outside interference and maintains that the disputes should be handled bilaterally.
Webb said Vietnam and other countries are watching whether “we are going to back up those words with substantive action.”
“That does not mean military confrontation, per se, but we have to make a clear signal,” said Webb, a Democrat who chairs the Senate subcommittee overseeing American policy toward East Asia.
Vietnam fired live artillery rounds Monday off its central coast in naval drills staged in response to recent incidents at sea.
Hong sidestepped a question about the exercises. But he appeared to be referring to Vietnam when he said “some country took unilateral actions to impair China’s sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, released groundless and irresponsible remarks with the attempt to expand and complicate the dispute over the South China Sea.”
China accuses Vietnam of illegally entering its waters and putting fishermen’s lives at risk.