PNoy reports 'substantial' progress in pushing united ASEAN stand on South China Sea

From InterAksyon (Apr 28): PNoy reports 'substantial' progress in pushing united ASEAN stand on South China Sea

President Benigno Aquino III said Tuesday he sees "very, very substantial progress" in discussions within ASEAN of the South China Sea issues.

Arriving in Manila from Malaysia, where he attended the 26th ASEAN Summit and pushed for asserting ASEAN centrality in facing China's increasingly aggressive moves to control the strategic waters, Aquino said he was satisfied with the outcome of the regional meet.

And he seemed pleased that other ASEAN members besides the Philippines and Vietnam -- two of the four Spratlys claimants in the regional bloc -- were speaking up, although in varying degrees, to express concern over China's reclamation spree, which affects the Kalayaan Island Group.

He noted that in his opening statement, Prime Minister Najib Razak of host Malaysia "also did talk about all of the reclamation activities. I’m sure … I didn’t hear anybody say that this isn’t a problem," adding that  in terms of degrees Manila's was "the strongest statement" in terms of "reaffirmation of UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea), the DOC (Declaration of Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea)" and "expeditious formulation" of the COC (Code of Conduct).

He noted that the UNCLOS came into being in 1982, "but it took up to 2002 to try and come up with a Code of Conduct to manage the tensions, as far as this issue is concerned. Failing the creation or the formulation of the COC, they came up with a DOC." And yet, he added, even just that declaration has not been honored by China with its reclamation spree.

He reiterated Manila's strong condemnation of China’s reclamation activities, as embodied in the Intervention statement issued by Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto del Rosario on Sunday at the Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Kuala Lumpur.

Del Rosario warned that unless China, unless stopped in its reclamation spree, was quickly moving towards "de facto control" of the South China Sea, which it claims in near entirety based on its "nine-dash-line" claim for which Manila sued it in a UN court.

Aquino summed up the grave implications of China's reclamation: it was putting regional stability in peril, threatening freedom of navigation in seas where 40 percent of the world's commerce passes through, damaging precious marine resources and Philippine biodiversity, and economically displacing Filipinos who are now being routinely harassed by Chinese vessels to prevent them from fishing.

Noting that the "DOC is an agreement between ASEAN and China, Aquino said he had emphasized "there is an ASEAN centrality, that China [should] talk to us as a group and this is how we should behave."

In reply to a reporter's question, Aquino said no one opposed his pitch for ASEAN centrality in facing the China challenge in the SCS, or tried to defend China. This was unlike what happened in Cambodia in 2012, when the host country -- known to have cozy ties with China 0- tangled with the Philippines and blocked its bid to raise the SCS issues.

This time around,  Aquino told media, " I think there was a very, very substantial progress from the time that we first started -- or at least I first started -- participating in discussions with regards to the issues of the South China Sea/West Philippine Sea."

There was a point, he added, "that it seemed like it was a matter of importance only for Vietnam in our sense. Now, when you have not just this chairman, but other chairmen and other members talking, shall we say, even more proactively about addressing the issue -- that, I think, is a very marked change."

Besides the SCS issues, the leaders agreed on a "people-centered ASEAN,"   reported Aquino.

"I think one of the lines that I stated was all of these plans of core investments -- in infrastructure, directions, et cetera -- at the end of the day, if we don’t invest in the people, none of these will reach the maximum potential without capacitating all our peoples to be able to participate in economic growth that is happening within the region."

He said most members of the bloc were advocating for the conclusion of the negotiations on the ASEAN instrument for the protection and promotion of the rights of migrant workers. Climate change was on the agenda as well. He said he was "happy" the country's PDRA (pre-disaster risk assessment) has been incorporated in the document produced by the conference in Sendai, Japan. We offered to share this  … needs assessment prior to the coming of various, in our case, typhoons, flashfloods, storm surges, etcetera."

Responding to a query, Aquino said the maritime dispute should be a campaign issue in the 2016 elections, and "it would be a legitimate question to any candidate to be asked about the Constitution," specifically his or her resolve to defend the national territory and uphold national sovereignty.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/109611/pnoy-reports-substantial-progress-in-pushing-united-asean-stand-on-south-china-sea