[Editor's note: This article is part of an ongoing WPR series on the South China Sea territorial disputes and the various claimant countries' approaches to addressing them.]
Protesters gather at the Chinese Consulate to protest island-building by China in the South China Sea, Manilla, Philippines, Aug. 31, 2015 (AP Photo by Bullit Marquez)
The Philippines received its first new fighter jets in a decade over the weekend. The acquisition is the country’s latest move to strengthen its military amid growing tensions with China over disputed claims in the South China Sea. In an email interview, Aileen Baviera, a professor of Asian studies at the University of the Philippines, discussed the Philippines’ claims in the South China Sea.
WPR: What are the Philippines’ territorial claims in the South China Sea, and with what other countries do they overlap or conflict?
Aileen Baviera: Philippine claims in the South China Sea involve the part of the Spratly Islands that is nearest to the island of Palawan. While Philippine interest in this area can be traced back to the 1930s, it was pursued more seriously after the government of Ferdinand Marcos directed the occupation of some of the features in the late 1960s, and after legislation was passed in 1976 declaring the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) as part of the Philippines. This claim overlapped with those of Vietnam, China and Taiwan and partially with a Malaysian claim that emerged later.
Aside from the KIG, Bajo de Masinloc—also known as the Scarborough Shoal, a coral reef off the coast of Zambales province—has long been considered part of the Philippines. Its name derives from the town of Masinloc, established by Spanish colonizers in 1607. The shoal had been subject to control by Philippine authorities until a 2012 standoff with China. China and Taiwan claim sovereignty and historic rights over the shoal.
Since the entry into force of the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in 1994, the Philippines, as a coastal state, asserts sovereign rights over an exclusive economic zone, a continental shelf and other maritime zones in the South China Sea consistent with the law.
WPR: What political strategies has the Philippines pursued to defend its South China Sea claims, including bilateral, multilateral and legal approaches?
Baviera: The Philippines has used all peaceful and legal means within its reach both to defend its claims and to find long-term solutions to the disputes. It tried, in vain, to negotiate after China occupied the Mischief Reef, or Panganiban, in 1995. Between 2004 and 2008, the Philippines explored the feasibility of joint energy development in disputed areas with China and Vietnam, at great cost in terms of domestic public opinion. It participated in various multilateral initiatives intended to promote peaceful settlement or management of territorial and maritime disputes, including a workshop series led by the Indonesian Foreign Ministry called “Managing Potential Conflicts in the South China Sea.” It has sought, and continues to seek, support from ASEAN member states for finding a common approach to managing the disputes, including proposals for a “Zone of Peace, Freedom, Friendship and Cooperation” and establishing a code of conduct between ASEAN and China.
Having made little progress on these fronts, while encountering setbacks such as the loss of Mischief Reef and the Scarborough Shoal and facing an increasingly assertive adversary, the Philippines is now focused on defending its claims by maintaining its garrisons and civilian presence on islands that it occupies. It has resorted to arbitration under Annex VII provisions of UNCLOS to defend its rights to maritime zones and their resources.
WPR: How has the South China Sea issue impacted the Philippines’ security posture and relationships in the region and beyond?
Baviera: The Philippines is now working with partners and allies to help develop maritime law enforcement capabilities in order to promote and defend its sovereign rights, as well as to attain a minimum credible defense posture. Even so, it continues to work hard to find diplomatic and legal solutions, and remains hopeful that all claimants, as well as external parties, will remain committed to the non-use of force or threat of force, self-restraint and adherence to international law.
In the South China Sea, the national interests of surrounding states, including the Philippines, must be balanced with the need for regional peace and stability. Even beyond the context of its territorial disputes, however, improved defense and maritime law enforcement capabilities are important for an archipelagic state such as the Philippines, which is both blessed with marine wealth and cursed with nontraditional security challenges at sea. Such capabilities will also enable the Philippines to better fulfill its regional responsibilities.
http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/trend-lines/17339/philippines-prioritizes-diplomacy-in-south-china-sea-disputes
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.