China dusts off plan for PH, pushes talks

From the Manila Standard Today (Feb 24): China dusts off plan for PH, pushes talks

Beijing on Saturday said that instead of bringing the territorial dispute in the West Philippine Sea before the United Nation’s Arbitral Tribunal, Manila should respond to its three-year old proposal to create a regular “consultation mechanism” on the subject.

Beijing’s statement came right after a Philippines-Japan maritime cooperation dialogue, where Tokyo indicated its willingness to help boost Manila’s capability to protect its territorial waters.

Chinese Foreign Ministry on boundary and ocean affairs division director general Ouyang Yujing told China Daily that even before the tension in Scarborough Shoal broke out in April 2011, Beijing had already proposed that Manila and Beijing conduct regular consultations on maritime issues.`

Ouyang said the proposal was made in March 2010, and since then, Beijing has been urging Manila “several times” to reopen a mechanism that involves “trust-building measures”.

Ouyang said that despite Beijing’s efforts, the Philippine side did not respond to the proposal.

“China hopes the Philippines will return to the right track of resolving disputes through bilateral negotiations,” Ouyang said.

As of press time, Foreign Affairs Department spokesman Raul Hernandez has yet to comment on Beijing’s latest statement.

Ouyang’s statement came a month after the Philippines formally filed its case on the territorial dispute before the Arbitral Tribunal as provided in the United Nations Conventions on the Law of the Sea (Unclos).

DFA secretary Albert del Rosario had said that they decided to present its side before the Unclos after exhausting all diplomatic and political avenues to try to resolve the dispute with China for the last 18 years with no success.

He added that international arbitration was the best and most peaceful way to clarify the country’s ownership and sovereignty over the West Philippines Sea.

Ouyang, however, said that Manila’s decision to bring the dispute before international arbitration would only “further complicate” the situation and “hinder a peaceful solution”.

The DFA, though, stood firm in saying that the decision to bring the case before international arbitration was “final,” and arbitration proceedings would push through even without the participation of China.

Manila filed its case for international arbitration on January 22, and at the same time presented a statement of notification of claim to China and a note verbale to Chinese ambassador Ma Keqing, inviting Beijing to form its own panel for the arbitral tribunal.
Beijing, however, returned the notification and said that it would not participate in the arbitration on Tuesday, Feb. 26, with Ma personally handing Beijing’s message in a note verbale to DFA officials.

Tokyo, meanwhile, agreed that the issue on the South China Sea had become a shared interest not only for the Philippines and Japan, but also the entire international community.

Japan has its own territorial dispute with China over an island situated within the East China Sea, which the Japanese call as Senkkaku and called Diaoyu by the Chinese.

In a joint statement, representatives from both the Philippines and Japan said that “both sides shared the recognition that the issues in the South China Sea is a matter of great interests for the whole international community being directly related to regional peace and stability, and the issue should be settled peacefully in accordance with the relevant international laws such as the Unclos.”

http://manilastandardtoday.com/2013/02/24/china-dusts-off-plan-for-ph-pushes-talks/