File photo of Kagitingan Reef, handout from the Public Affairs Office of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Manila and Hanoi are protesting China's recent flights over the reef. On Wednesday, the DFA said Beijing had rejected Manila's note verbale protesting the flights.
Beijing has verbally rejected the Philippines' protest over the recent test flights of China over Fiery Cross Reef (called Kagitingan Reef by Manila), the Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said Wednesday.
Manila's note verbale was officially forwarded by the DFA on January 8 to the First Secretary of the Chinese Embassy; however, the Chinese diplomat quickly responded that China is not violating any laws as it has indisputable sovereignty in the South China Sea. In short, "China simply repeated that of course, they have indisputable sovereignty and it's within their rights," said Assistant Secretary Charles Jose in an interview. Asked if that is a clear manifestation of rejection, Jose replied, "ah yes!"
On Wednesday morning, the DFA released a statement on the contents of its note verbale, emphasizing that China's provocative actions have raised tensions and anxiety in the region; are restricting the freedom of navigation and overflights in the West Philippine Sea; and are a definite violation of the spirit and letter of the ASEAN-China Declaration of Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.
The DOC is a nonbinding political accord signed in 2002 by China and ASEAN members Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar that would precede the proposed regional Code of Conduct.
It discourages aggressive actions and bars construction of new structures in the contested region that could spark armed conflicts.
However, many regard the 2002 accord as lacking in teeth and a dispute-settlement scheme to effectively deal with the territorial disputes, sparking calls for a more effective and legally-binding Code of Conduct.
Vietnam, which is also claiming the Fiery Cross, also protested China’s actions.
The 10-member ASEAN bloc has aspired to hammer a regional code with China that would prevent conflicting territorial claims in the vast potentially-oil rich region from erupting into violent confrontations or worse, an economically-devastating major conflict.
Such a goal has acquired urgency due to China’s rapid and massive island-building on previously submerged reefs disputed by other claimants such as Vietnam and the Philippines. The reclamation has also triggered concerns from several states, such as the United States, Japan and Australia.
2+2 meeting in Washington
Meanwhile, in Washington, the so-called "2 + 2 meeting" between Philippine defense and foreign affairs officials and their counterparts has been concluded, the DFA reported. While the 2+2 meeting had long been scheduled, it came at a crucial time: the renewed aggressive action of China in the West Philippine sea with the provocative flights over Fiery Cross, and the Supreme Court's ruling upholding the legality of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) forged between Manila and Washington in 2014.
Manila was represented by Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Del Rosario, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Cuisia. On the other-hand, US Secretary of State John Kerry and US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter represented the US government.
The meeting lasted for two hours and 15 minutes and discussed a broad range of topics including bilateral relations, security and defense cooperation, economic cooperations and climate change, the DFA said.
Aside from the substantial support of America in the modernization of the Philippine military, issues on maritime security were tackled, especially the dispute in the South China Sea, the DFA reported.
EDCA implementation
Assistant Secretary Jose could not give further details on whether or how the Supreme Court's decision favoring EDCA affected the atmosphere of the 2 + 2 meeting. However, Jose cited the possible next steps after EDCA was declared constitutional in a 10-4-1 vote of the high tribunal, in a decision penned by Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.
According to Jose, the details of that post-ruling scenario will likely be tackled at the next Mutual Defense Board and the Security Defense Board. National government mechanisms on how to implement EDCA will be set up, added Jose, but pointed out that the timeline of the implementation is "not yet clear."
The DFA, meanwhile, slammed the critics of the SC's decision on EDCA, stressing that they should respect the high court's finding that it is not violating the Philippine Constitution, especially in the matter of putting up US military bases.
Our Constitution clearly states that foreign military bases are not allowed here. Now, if the Supreme Court says that EDCA does not violate the Constitution, that means rhe EDCA does not allow the US to open their military bases in the Philippines. That is not in EDCA," explained Jose, speaking partly in Filipino.
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/122674/beijing-rejects-phl-note-verbale-on-fiery-cross-overflights---dfa-spokesman
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.