PHL welcomes US Senate Resolution rejecting China's unilateral actions in West Philippine Sea

From the Philippine News Agency (Jul 15): PHL welcomes US Senate Resolution rejecting China's unilateral actions in West Philippine Sea

The Philippines welcomed a United States Senate resolution urging Beijing and other parties to the Declaration of Conduct in the South China Sea not to undertake new unilateral attempts to change the status quo prevailing in the disputed areas since 2002.

In a statement from Washington DC, Philippine Ambassador Jose Cuisia on Tuesday said Resolution 412, which was passed by the Senate last Thursday, also reaffirmed Washington’s strong support for freedom of sea navigation and overflights in the South China Sea.

The resolution came a few weeks after Manila protested the reclamation activities being undertaken by China in other disputed areas in the South China Sea.

It was introduced by Sen. Robert Menendez (D, New Jersey), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, and co-sponsored by Senators Marco Rubio (R, Florida), Ben Cardin (D, Maryland), John McCain (R, Arizona), James Risch (R, Idaho), and Patrick Leahy (D, Vermont).

“We welcome the passage of Senate Resolution 412 and express our gratitude to Chairman Menendez and his colleagues in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for their support of the Philippine position,” Cuisia said.

The envoy said the resolution demonstrates the US’ long standing commitment to its Mutual Defense Treaty with the Philippines, a 1951 accord that compels the United States to come to its Asian ally’s defense if attacked by a foreign force.

In that resolution, the Senate calls on all parties “to refrain from engaging in destabilizing activities, including illegal occupation or efforts to unlawfully assert administration over disputed claims and ensure that disputes are managed without intimidation, coercion, or force.”

It also noted that Manila properly exercised its rights to peaceful settlement mechanisms in filing an arbitration case against China and expressed hope that Beijing abides by the ruling.

China maintains indisputable ownership of 90 percent of the waters, home to group of islands, islets, rocks and reefs where undersea oil and gas deposits have been discovered. The South China Sea is also a major trading route.

China and Association of South East Asian nations, which groups the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar, signed a non-aggression pact in 2002 to prevent armed conflict in the troubled waters. Of the 10 ASEAN members, four are claimants to the resource-rich territories – Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=662649