PH ‘guardedly optimistic’ on territorial dispute

From Malaya Business Insight (Jun 28): PH ‘guardedly optimistic’ on territorial dispute

PRESIDENT-ELECT Rodrigo Duterte yesterday said he will remain mum on the West Philippine Sea issue until the arbitral court has ruled on the case filed by the country against China.

“Here on the (West Philippine Sea dispute), we shut up. We will wait for the decision before we make any public statement. We are just waiting for the arbitral judgment...Wag na muna nating pakialaman ‘yan. I have to talk to everybody in the government to decide, including the military,” Duterte said during his speech at the weekly-flag raising ceremony in Davao City Hall, his last as city mayor.

The Philippines filed an arbitration case before the United Nation’s Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2013 questioning the nine-dash line claim by China.

A ruling is expected to be out anytime next month.

China, however, refused to honor the tribunal’s jurisdiction over the dispute.

Duterte earlier said he is willing to talk with China to settle the dispute, adding that going to war would just be wasting lives as the Philippines is no match against China’s military might.

Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose said China’s actions betray not a confident country but a government “very much concerned” with the arbitral court’s forthcoming ruling.

“We expect their reaction, as they said, they do not recognize and will not honor the ruling of the arbitral tribunal. But based on our analysis, China is very much concerned, because even now, it is already discrediting the arbitration process and the tribunal,” Jose said.

 “This will affect their international standing, their international image,” he added.

Jose said Manila is “guardedly optimistic” of the arbitral tribunal’s ruling, adding that China’s nine-dash line claim has no basis in international law, especially the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea which the Philippines and China has both signed and ratified.

He said other countries are also waiting for the decision because it will have huge implications on maritime issues in the South China Sea.

Last week, Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said the Philippines should brace for an inter-generational struggle” with China over the maritime territorial dispute. 

Carpio said even if the country cannot match Beijing’s economic and military power, there are other ways to ensure that it will comply with the arbitral tribunal’s ruling.

In recent days, China has stepped up its public relations campaign against the arbitration process as it said that at least 47 countries have offered support for its refusal to recognize the process. Its diplomats have also written editorials in regional dailies denouncing Manila’s case.

In Hanoi, China’s top diplomat, State Councillor Yang Jiechi, arrived in Vietnam for a scheduled meeting to strengthen historically close relations, at a time when ties are strained by squabbles over the South China Sea.

Yang, who outranks the foreign minister, was due to co-chair a “steering committee” that aims to strengthen ties and ward off disputes.

“We’re glad to realize that the two nations’ relationship over the time continues its positive development, despite some existing problems that need to be solved,” Vietnam’s Foreign Minister and deputy premier Pham Binh Minh said after greeting Yang.

Though Vietnam is not part of the Hague case, it stands to benefit from a positive ruling for Manila and has echoed its opposition to China’s fortification of artificial islands, the conduct of its coastguard and perceived intrusions into Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone.

Ha Hoang Hop, a Vietnamese academic who has advised the government, said there was “no hidden agenda” behind Yang’s visit and there were no compromises to be made over the South China Sea.

http://www.malaya.com.ph/business-news/news/ph-%E2%80%98guardedly-optimistic%E2%80%99-territorial-dispute