PH mulls over ‘right response at right time’

Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/JOAN BONDOC

The administration is preparing, in consultation with experts, the “right response at the right time” to the Philippines’ landmark victory in its arbitration case against China, presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said on Wednesday.

The Philippines welcomes the arbitration court’s decision, Abella said, but will proceed with “sobriety and restraint.”

He said whatever would be done would be for the “common good,” especially with regard to Philippine fishermen, who have been adversely affected by China’s intrusion into their traditional fishing grounds.

“Now, whatever the results are, the legislative part has been done, and so we are now waiting for the right responses coming from the government,” Abella told reporters.

“I’m sure that everything will be for the common good, especially for those who are directly involved, including the fishermen, but let us wait for the right response at the right time,” he said. Asked to elaborate, he replied, “When it unfolds, that will be the right time.”

Among the experts consulted on the Philippines’ response to the decision were members of the Supreme Court, he said.

As for President Duterte’s initial reaction to the ruling, Abella said, “It was welcome, but also very responsible. It was a very responsible response.”

Mr. Duterte called a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday night, after the ruling was handed down, to discuss how the Philippines should respond.

Abella said the mood was “upbeat, but also very mature, very responsible.”

Among those present were Supreme Court Justices Antonio Carpio and Francis Jardeleza, and former Solicitor General Florin Hilbay, who were involved in the Philippines’ arbitration case.

Solicitor General Jose Calida briefed the President on the legal points of the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s 501-page decision. It was a comprehensive discussion of the facts of the case, Calida said.

“We dissected the 15 submissions of the Philippine government and I explained the legal ramifications of each ruling,” Calida said in a phone interview.

He said it would be up to the President to decide on the next moves.

Earlier, Mr. Duterte said he wanted to talk with China in case the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled in the Philippines’ favor in its case challenging Beijing’s claim to almost the whole of the South China Sea.

“We are not prepared to go to war. War is a dirty word now, but we will proceed accordingly after we shall have the copy of the arbitral judgment,” he said earlier this month.

Asean awaited

In an ambush interview on Wednesday, Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. said while the Philippines had the full support of the international community, “we hope Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) will come up with a unified statement.” The regional grouping has not come up with a common stand on China’s aggressive moves in the region.

But even without Asean’s unified stand, Yasay said, “we will see how we can peacefully implement the decision.” The secretary is attending he 11th Asia-Europe summit in Mongolia this weekend. China earlier warned delegates to the summit not to discuss sea disputes.

At a media forum on Wednesday, Hilbay said the case had now moved “toward the game of diplomats.”

“There will be a lot of pressure on China to calculate the risk and benefits of not following the award. China is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos) and it is legally bound to comply with the arbitration ruling or face reputational loss,” Hilbay said.

No jet ski to shoal

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Wednesday played down Mr. Duterte’s earlier campaign remark that he would jet ski to the disputed shoals and plant the Philippine flag to assert the country’s sovereignty.

“The situation on the ground is the same as before the issuance of the arbitration court. I think the status quo has been maintained by everybody,” Lorenzana said in his first interview with defense reporters.

“The Chinese have also said they will restrain actions there. They have asked for us not to be brash in our actions after the ruling and we have to abide by that request not to take measures that would ruffle feathers there or lead to some misunderstanding,” he said.

Lorenzana ruled out consultations with the United States, saying the Philippines would be “guided by what is good for our country.”

He said US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter called him over phone on Sunday afternoon, assuring that “our alliance, our defense pact is ironclad” and that the United States “support you here in this issue.”

Also on Wednesday, Sen. Panfilo Lacson told a news forum that the Philippines could ask the United Nations to deploy a peacekeeping force in the South China Sea should China ignore the arbitration ruling.

“If there is a UN contingent composed of different countries, I don’t think China, for all its bravado … will go to war against the UN peacekeeping force. Otherwise, they will be fighting with the community of nations,” Lacson said.

Sen. Francis Pangilinan said the ruling was an opportunity for both countries to go back to the negotiating table.

“We should ensure two things: that the corals and the maritime ecology in the South China Sea are not destroyed, and that Filipino fishermen are able to exercise their livelihood sustainably and to fish in their traditional fishing grounds without fear,” he said. With reports from Christine O. Avendaño, Estrella Torres and Jaymee T. Gamil

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