President Benigno Aquino III stands by his decision to take the battle to the international arena while restraining the Philippine Navy from aggressively challenging China
ALLIES. President Benigno S. Aquino III (second from left) and Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin (rightmost) with US Ambassador Philip Goldberg and Japan Ambassador Kazuhide Ishikawa. Photo by Lauro Montellano Jr/Malacanang Photo Bureau
In the twilight of his administration, President Benigno Aquino III looked back at the 2012 standoff in Scarborough Shoal to explain his decisions on the incident that sparked the high-profile conflict between Manila and Beijing.
President-elect Rodrigo Duterte, who will inherit the conflict, vowed during the campaign to investigate how the country lost effective control of the shoal located 120 nautical miles off Zambales province, declaring that "treason" might have been committed.
Asked about the allegation, Aquino shrugged off the claim in a news briefing on Thursday, May 26. He quoted theologist and philosopher St Thomas Aquinas in standing by his decision to take the battle to the international arena while restraining the Philippine Navy from aggressively challenging China.
"Treason? I’d like to hear the specific charge para (so that) I can respond appropriately. Pero simpleng-simple lang naman ito (But ihis is very simple)," Aquino said.
China reclaimed at least 7 maritime features in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), building artificial islands that now host its runways and missiles. Chinese Coast Guard vessels have practically occupied Scarborough Shoal, but Aquino said no construction has been done in the shoal near Zambales province.
It was an issue Duterte raised against his critic, Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, who did backchanneling talks between the Philippines and China, during the campaign. It was in response to Trillanes' ill-gotten weatlh accusations against him days before the May 9 elections.
Don't give up territorial sovereignty
The outspoken Davao mayor said during the campaign that he will jestki to a Chinese-occupied maritime feature in the Spratly Islands and hoist the Philippine flag on it to proclaim the country's ownership of the disputed territory.
These remarks suggested that the president-elect would depart from the strategy of the Aquino administration and engage China more aggressively.
But Duterte has since flip-flopped. He said he wants friendly relations with China, and prefers bilateral or one-on-one talks with the Asian giant – the latter's preferrred mode of negotiations over multilateral talks.
This has prompted a reminder from Aquino that no Philippine president "can afford to give up any portion of territorial sovereignty." Former President Gloria Arroyo had been accused of treason for allowing joint exploration in the disputed seas – the Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking among the Philippines, China, and Vietnam. (READ: Why China prefers Arroyo over Aquino)
But Aquino said sending the navy to counter China is also morally wrong considering the state of the Philippine military – one of the weakest in Asia. China is a military superpower determined to challenge US military dominance in the West Philippine Sea.
International support
In finding the appropriate response, the Aquino administration instead brought the dispute to the international arena and asked the global community to pressure China to adhere to international law. (READ: G7 says 'concerned' by situation in East, South China Sea)
"Ano ba dapat ang ginawa natin diyan (What should we do in that situation)? Engage in hostilities? If we engage in hostilities there, can we win? O ‘di obviously hindi (Obviously, we won't). Pero (But) even in that aspect, are we endangering lives unnecessarily?," Aquino said.
"Iyong maski papasukan natin ‘yung (Even if we consider the) moral dimension, I think it was St Thomas Aquinas who talked about 'just war.' And part of his treatise was: if you engage in war, there has to be that possibility of winning. Kapag guaranteed na hindi (If it is a guaranteed defeat), ‘di ba, that was one of the tenets, tapos may (then there is) exhaustion of all means," he added.
Military actions will not help the Philippine case, Aquino said. "The opinions of some of our legal experts were if we go back to a confrontational attitude in terms of sending, for example, a BFAR (Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources) vessel again to the area, that might not help our case."
But the Philippines also signed a new agreement with the US to allow its treaty ally to construct facilities and preposition assets in the Philippines, and agreed to initiate talks with Japan to allow its troops in the country.
US brokered to end standoff
Chinese Coast Guard vessels stopped the arrest, fueling the standoff that Aquino said eventually involved the Philippines' treaty ally, the US.
The US brokered and there was an agreement for all parties to depart the shoal. There was even a concept of “saving face” by everybody," said Aquino. The Philippines withdrew, but China did not.
Chinese Coast Guard vessels have since practically occupied the shoal, preventing Filipino fishermen access to their traditional fishing grounds.
"Their continued presence is something that we have continuously objected to," said Aquino.
China's refusal to withdraw its ships eventually prompted the Philippines to file a case before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, the Netherlands. Citing the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the Philippines asked the international body to decide which country has the right over the disputed maritime features.
Adherence to international law
The international court is expected to issue its ruling before Aquino steps down on June 30.
The Philippines is also actively urging the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to assert itself in the resolution. ASEAN has signed a Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) with China which the latter has not adhered to.
Section 5 of the DOC states: “The parties undertake to exercise self-restraint in the conduct of activities that would complicate or escalate disputes and affect peace and stability including among others refraining from action of inhabiting on the presently uninhabited islands, reefs, shoals, cays and other features and to handle their differences in a constructive manner.”
"We want to stress the difference between the Philippines’ and China’s behavior in that we are religiously adhering to the DOC, which is the only agreement entered into that is supposed to provide the principles but binding on all of the signatories," Aquino said at news briefing on Thursday.
"And I think we have demonstrated our complete adherence to international law, number one. Number two, all the agreements that this country has entered into, even before my time, we have been scrupulously observing the same. It underpins that we all believe that the great equalizer among nations big and small – these international laws that should be binding on everybody," he added.
http://www.rappler.com/nation/134420-aquino-treason-south-china-sea
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