The Philippines and China agree to build new telephone lines to handle maritime disputes

By means of John Victor D. Ordoñez, News reporter

The Philippines and China have agreed to establish new lines of communication to improve their handling of maritime conflicts, Manila’s foreign ministry said, as ties deteriorate over clashes between their coastguards in the South China Sea.

The parties have yet to finalize guidelines for these communication channels, Philippine Foreign Affairs spokesperson Ma said. Teresita C. Daza told it Business in a WhatsApp message Wednesday.

She said top diplomats from Beijing and Manila began working on the improved lines of communication during a bilateral consultation mechanism in Manila on July 2.

Both countries resumed talks to ease tensions in the South China Sea after accusing each other of raising tensions in disputed shoals and reefs in the waterway, including an incident in which a Philippine navy sailor lost his thumb.

The bilateral consultation mechanism is a format to specifically address issues in the South China Sea.

The two countries have traded jurisdictions in the disputed South China Sea as the Philippines, emboldened by support from defense ally the United States, challenges China’s presence around strategic features within Manila’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

Three communication channels would be set up for maritime issues, Reuters reported, citing an unnamed Philippine diplomat.

The first channel will be used by “representatives to be designated by their leaders,” and the second by their foreign ministries at ministerial or vice-ministerial level, or their representatives.

The third will involve their coast guards, “which will be set up once the corresponding memorandum of understanding between the coast guards is concluded, a document said.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Philippine Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Ma. Theresa P. Lazaro and Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Chen Xiaodong had a frank and constructive discussion on the situation in the South China Sea.

“The experience with hotlines to Beijing has been very discouraging, as efforts by the Philippines and other countries have often resulted in unanswered calls,” Raymond M. Powell, a fellow at Stanford University’s Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation, said in an X message. .

“The usefulness of this ‘upgraded’ line will depend entirely on whether the office on the other end has sufficient authority and is expected to actually answer the phone during a crisis,” he added.

NO ‘GAMECHANGER’
The Chinese embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a Viber message seeking comment.

The Philippines and Japan signed a pact on July 8 that eases the access of equipment and troops for combat training, saying they want stability in the region amid rising tensions with China.

“While Manila’s recognition of this plan illustrates its continued commitment to dialogue, the country has no reason to expect it to be a game changer for the West Philippine Sea,” said Don McLain Gill, who teaches international relations at the De La Salle University, in a speech. Facebook Messenger chat.

Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Eduardo C. Teodoro Jr. said earlier that China has yet to prove a “level of good faith” to participate in defense talks.

He previously told senators that no talks will take place until “fundamental processes” are in place.

“In the past, Beijing ignored hotline diplomacy and took it for granted,” Chester B. Cabalza, founder and president of the Manila-based International Development and Security Cooperation, said in a Facebook Messenger chat. “Manila must be determined to get this done better.”

The Philippines last month accused the Chinese coast guard of deliberately ramming and puncturing naval boats and seizing weapons to disrupt a supply mission to troops stationed on a ship grounded at the Second Thomas shoal , which seriously injured a Filipino sailor.

China said the Philippine ship illegally entered its territory and “deliberately and dangerously” approached a Chinese vessel, resulting in a minor collision.

The agreement on communication channels is not the first; the two sides have previously established a line between their maritime offices.

They agreed at the recent bilateral meeting on the need to “restore confidence” and “rebuild trust” to better manage disputes.

The Philippine supply missions, often accompanied by the media, have roiled China, which considers Second Thomas Shoal part of its territory despite being 1,300 km from the mainland and within Manila’s EEZ.

Beijing claims sovereignty over most of the South China Sea based on its old maps and has deployed hundreds of coast guard ships deep into Southeast Asia to assert its claims, disrupting the offshore energy and fishing activities of its neighbors, including Malaysia and Vietnam, are disrupted.

China has refused to recognize a 2016 international arbitration award that invalidated its claims of illegality.

The United States has backed the Philippines during the clashes, condemning what it calls Chinese aggression while underscoring its “ironclad” commitment to a 1951 mutual defense treaty that requires them to defend their former colony if attacked attacked.

China has accused the United States of meddling. — of Reuters