China think tank rejects PHL ‘triple-action plan’ to calm tense South China Sea

From GMA News (Sep 25): China think tank rejects PHL ‘triple-action plan’ to calm tense South China Sea
 

China's think tank on issues related to the South China Sea has rejected a Philippine proposal meant to reduce tension in the area as it questioned the timing and origin of the so-called "triple-action plan."

In a briefing with Philippine media in Haikou City on Wednesday, scholars with China's National Institute for South China Seas Studies (NISCSS) said the timing of the proposal—which calls for a cessation of activities that raise tension in the South China Sea, the implementation of a code of conduct in the disputed area, and arbitration to settle disputes—could have been made much earlier.

The Philippines proposed the plan at the 47th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers' Meeting held in Myanmar in August.

NISCSS president Wu Shicun said the proposal was announced a week before the ASEAN meeting and was similar to a proposal made by the US, which has also raised concerns over freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.

Kang Ling, a NISCSS scholar, added the maritime disputes over parts of the South China Sea began in the 1960s and 1970s. "Why issue such a plan now?" he said.

"The Philippine initiative in this case was made by the US," Wu said, adding China is not the only claimant that has occupied and built structures in the South China Sea.
 

"The Philippines has also announced it is thinking of rebuilding its airstrip," he said, referring to the airstrip on Pagasa Island.

The Philippines has protested Chinese reclamation work in occupied parts of the South China Sea as well as the presence of Chinese survey ships in the area.

China has a historical claim over part of the South China, including the portion that the Philippines calls the West Philippine Sea and claims as part of its exclusive economic zone under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. The Philippines has sought arbitration by an international tribunal under UNCLOS.

No arbitration

Wu said at the same briefing that China, which has refused to take part in the arbitration, will likely refuse to implement the international tribunal's ruling on the maritime dispute.

He stressed that the issue between the Philippines and China should be settled by the two countries directly. He said that instead of an "unilateral and compulsory" settlement by an international tribunal, the issue should be smoothed out by parties directly. "That is the internationally-recognized general practice," he said.

According to a non-binding declaration signed by ASEAN members and China in 2002, disputes between claimants should be resolved "through friendly consultations and negotiations by sovereign states directly concerned."

 

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/380766/news/nation/china-think-tank-rejects-phl-triple-action-plan-to-calm-tense-south-china-sea