Beijing moves toward 'de facto control of South China Sea' - Philippines

From InterAksyon (Apr 26): Beijing moves toward 'de facto control of South China Sea' - Philippines



Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario. INTERAKSYON FILE PHOTO

Beijing is moving toward "de facto control" of the South China Sea, the Philippines warned on Sunday as it called on fellow Southeast Asian countries to "stand up" to their massive neighbor, but the foreign minister of summit host Malaysia said any ASEAN response should avoid antagonizing China.

"(China) is poised to consolidate de facto control of the South China Sea," Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario told fellow ministers at a regional meeting in Kuala Lumpur, according to a text of his speech.

China's unabated reclamation in Philippine-claimed territory in the South China Sea, if not stopped, will irreparably alter the status quo and moot international diplomatic initiatives in the region, Secretary del Rosario warned his peers in ASEAN Sunday.

If the regional bloc, which this year is launching the integrated ASEAN Community, fails to act on the reclamation, that would undermine ASEAN’s very centrality, solidarity and credibility, del Rosario said in an intervention at the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting ongoing in Kuala Lumpur, which is hosting the two-day Leaders' Summit of 10 heads of stat.

Throughout his statement del Rosario did not mention China by name, referring to the Asian giant only as "our northern neighbor."

The foreign ministers' meeting ended past 1 p.m., and international media covering the event swarmed around the DFA chief, who declined to be interviewed, saying only: "I have said what I wanted to say and it's on paper."

ASEAN should not antagonize China - Malaysian FM

"Is it not time for ASEAN to say to our northern neighbor that what it is doing is wrong and that the massive reclamations must be immediately stopped?" del Rosario asked his fellow ministers.

"Is it not time for ASEAN to finally stand up for what is right?"

 

But the summit's host Malaysia rejected the idea of a response that could antagonize China.

"We must avoid any action that would be counter-productive and bring us further apart, either amongst ourselves, or with China," Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman said.

 

"I don't think ASEAN would like to be given an ultimatum, and by the same token I don't think China would like to be given an ultimatum."

Faced with Beijing's immense trade and diplomatic leverage, ASEAN has a history of failing to agree on strong responses over the issue on behalf of its members with disputed maritime claims.

Concern over Chinese land reclamation was re-ignited this month by satellite photos showing huge amounts of sand being dredged and dumped onto fragile coral reefs claimed by the Philippines.

Defense analysts say these works are creating land masses big enough for airstrips and other large facilities, raising the spectre of deepening Chinese domination of a waterway that is rich in energy reserves, fishery resources and is a vital conduit for much of world trade.

A draft statement prepared well before the gathering began calls for "self-restraint" at sea but avoids direct criticism of China or even mention of it by name, a diplomatic source said previously.

'Amicable solution' sought

Anifah said "ASEAN member-states want to see that this matter should be settled amicably", and he suggested China someday allow joint use of the islands it is constructing.

ASEAN has pushed China for more than a decade to agree on a code of conduct at sea that would set rules preventing rival claimants taking steps that could inflame the situation.

But actual discussions only started in 2013 and have progressed slowly, with analysts saying Beijing is delaying to buy more time to consolidate its foothold.

"May I draw your attention to the worsening situation in the South China Sea," began del Rosario's intervention on Sunday, amid rising alarm over Beijing's arrogant rebuff of Manila's - and the international community's - call to halt the reclamation, which affects most of the islands, reefs and atolls in the Kalayaan island Group, a municipality of the Philippines' Palawan province.

"A year ago, the Philippines began to draw international attention to destabilizing activities, particularly our northern neighbor’s massive reclamation, in the South China Sea," del Rosario told ASEAN foreign ministers.

"First, we stressed that there was a growing gap between what we were hearing in diplomatic terms and what was really happening in the South China Sea.

"Second, we warned that massive reclamation threatened to militarize the region, infringe on the rights of other states and damage the marine environment," the DFA chief added, and then distributed to the ministers a disc summarizing these issues.

Then, he recalled that one year ago, Manila had "also warned that massive reclamation was clearly intended to change the regional status quo, to advance our northern neighbor’s unreasonable, expansive and illegal so-called Nine-Dash Line claim, to undermine the rule of law and to render the DOC and the COC irrelevant." He was referring to the non-binding Declaration of Conduct that China and the ASEAN members had signed earlier, as well as the Code of Conduct that the ASEAN has been pushing for years.

Manila has a pending case against China with the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), where China has refused to participate. The Philippines submitted its Memorial or summary of arguments in May last year, and the judges at The Hague have set hearings in June and July.

In Kuala Lumpur on Sunday, DFA chief del Rosario reiterated two more issues Manila had already raised in connection with China's reclamation:

• If the massive reclamations are allowed to be completed, China "will succeed in defining and imposing its unlawful sovereignty claim over more than 85% of the South China Sea."

• If ASEAN did nothing about these reclamations, "it would undermine ASEAN’s very centrality, solidarity and credibility."

FOR  EARLIER ANALYSIS OF CHINA'S CHOKEHOLD ON THE AREA ONCE RECLAMATION IS COMPLETED, CLICK HERE.

According to del Rosario, Manila had raised the matter for discussion "in the ARF, EAS, ASEM [ASEAN regional Forum, East Asia Summit, ASEAN-Europe Meeting] and even the United Nations, in order to galvanize the understanding of the international community."

It may thus be said, del Rosario stressed, "that the Philippines has borne more than its share of the heavy burden for ASEAN and the international community on this issue."

He then lamented how, despite Manila's words of alarm, China is "clearly and quickly advancing with its massive reclamation," warning his peers that Beijing is clearly "poised to consolidate de facto control of the South China Sea."

Beijing defense installations imperil stabililty

Finally, he raised the most chilling implilcation for regional peace and stability. He drew the ASEAN members' attention to the fact that Beijing had made clear "it will place defense installations on the reclaimed areas."

The Philippines had warned them earlier, del Rosario reminded Manila's neighbors, that China "will in all probability finish its reclamation activities before it agrees to conclude a COC [Code of Conduct]," which ASEAN is now keen on pushing.

"If this is what happens, and which is likely to happen," the consummation of the reclamation and the emplacement of defense installations "will render the [Declaration of Conduct] DOC irrelevant and any COC would have the effect of legitimizing China's reclamation."

According to del Rosario, the Philippines believes "that the more important element of Centrality is our region’s capacity to foster common perspectives on regional and international issues."

While he noted "our northern neighbor’s [China's] repeated avowal of its respect and adherence to ASEAN Centrality in its public pronouncements on ASEAN," the recent launch "of the so-called ASEAN-China Maritime Year 2015 on the sidelines of the Boa'o Forum last month disregards ASEAN Centrality."

The Philippines, he said, fully supports "closer ASEAN-China cooperation and, in this respect, believes that this Maritime Year initiative calls for a proper study and evaluation by all of ASEAN." Still, he said, "this requires time, care and prudence to ensure that all our interests, individually and collectively, are taken into full account."

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/109477/beijing-moves-toward-de-facto-control-of-south-china-sea---philippines