The Philippines has failed to get China’s assurance that its intrusions in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) would finally stop, according to Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario.
Del Rosario, who is back in Manila from a two-day official visit to Beijing, disclosed the results of his bilateral talks with his Chinese counterpart during Monday’s press briefing at the Department of Foreign Affairs headquarters in Pasay City.
Asked if his Chinese hosts gave any indication, if not any assurance of less intrusions in the contested waters, Del Rosario said matter-of-factly, “No, they did not.”
“That would be my hope, yes. That would be my expectation,” he also said.
Del Rosario noted that during their bilateral talks, the Beijing government had taken the position that “no such intrusions took place because from their point of view, the (entire South China Sea) belongs to them.”
“Of course, we disputed this position. We took the position that our stand is fully supported by international law, in particular the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas (Unclos),” he said.
Beijing also did not respond to Manila’s proposal to bring the Spratlys dispute to the International Tribunal on the Law of the Seas (Itlos) based in Hamburg, Germany.
According to Del Rosario, they “suggested (to the Chinese side) that the proper forum for that would be the Itlos.”
“We suggested that we both go to Itlos…(But) I’m not sure if there was a response (from our hosts),” he said.
Incidentally, China is currently one of the 21 judges of the body which was established in Jamaica on Dec. 10, 1982, under the Unclos.
On calls from other Spratly claimant-countries, including the Philippines, for a multilateral approach to the conflict, Del Rosario noted that Beijing “has been advocating for a bilateral approach.”
“This has not changed. This remains their advocacy,” he said.
Aside from favoring a multilateral approach, the DFA chief asserted that the Philippines prefers to “resolve this peacefully. That we would like a rules-based regime to be applied. And we would want to adhere and enjoin the other claimants to observe the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties (in the South China Sea).”
According to Del Rosario, they had a “very straightforward discussion” with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi.
“The exchange of views was useful in terms if being able to clearly state each other’s position (on the Spratlys dispute)…Our position is that since there’s a wide disparity of positions being held, we thought it best to not let the West Philippine Sea in any way affect the bilateral agenda from moving forward. We wanted to abstract the West Philippine Sea issue so it can be treated separately,” he said.
But Del Rosario maintained that “what is ours is ours, and what is disputed can be shared…And our claims are based on international law, specifically the Unclos and we stand by it.”
On Friday, Del Rosario and Yang issued a joint statement where they agreed “not to let the maritime disputes affect the broader picture of friendship and cooperation between the two countries.”
They also reaffirmed their two countries’ “commitments to respect and abide by the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea,” signed by China and Association of Southeast Asian Nations member-states in 2002.
They also agreed to work together to make President Aquino’s state visit to China in late August or early September a success.
Aside from Yang, Del Rosario also met with Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping during his China trip.