The Philippines should work with ASEAN in resolving the maritime dispute with China

By means of John Victor D. Ordoñez, News reporter

THE PHILIPPINES should hold more dialogues with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) over the maritime dispute with China, according to the Senate president, who said diplomacy is still Manila’s best option to defuse tensions.

“Our Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) should try to bring this issue to ASEAN, of which the Philippines is a part,” Senate President Francis “Chiz” G. Escudero told reporters in Filipino on Wednesday.

Suing China before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague is always an option, he added.

“ASEAN is not known as a political association, but this is still a forum to discuss what is happening in this part of the region,” Mr Escudero said.

Tensions between the Philippines and China have worsened in the past year as Beijing continues to block supply missions to Second Thomas Shoal, where Manila grounded a World War II ship in 1999 to assert its sovereignty.

China has issued a policy that allows its coast guard to detain people in disputed areas it considers violators.

Senators on Tuesday criticized the Chinese coast guard for seizing and dumping food and other supplies meant for a handful of Filipino soldiers at Second Thomas Shoal on May 19.

More than $3 trillion worth of trade passes by sea every year, almost all of which China claims. A United Nations-backed tribunal in 2016 invalidated his claim of illegality.

“I hope our country does not strike back,” Mr. Escudero said. “No one wants any kind of war to break out in our region, especially when the battleground is our country.”

China’s new policy, which the Philippine Coast Guard says is illegal, allows the coast guard to detain without trial for up to 60 days foreigners it suspects of violating exit rules, including in disputed areas of the South China Sea .

Foreign ships can be seized and foreigners detained if accused of illegal entry and exit, of helping others “to enter and leave the country illegally,” and of “endangering national security and interests’.

“China is trying to flex its muscles in that area and economically strengthen and illuminate its status as a major superpower,” Senate Majority Leader Francis N. Tolentino said in a statement.

“We are now seeing a… increase in the horizontal gray zone tactics used by China. “I think the DFA should now focus not only on purely diplomatic protests, but also on possible violations of international humanitarian law,” he added.

China’s Foreign Ministry said Monday that the United States has played an “extremely dishonorable role” in supporting Manila and using the South China Sea dispute to provoke China’s ties with the region.

Beijing is willing to continue working with ASEAN members, including the Philippines, to manage maritime disagreements and deepen maritime-related cooperation, the agency said.

Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. delivered a keynote speech at a security forum in Singapore last week, criticizing what he described as illegal, coercive and aggressive actions by “other actors” in the South China Sea – a rebuke of China, although he did not name the country.

Late last year, ASEAN foreign ministers issued a statement saying they were closely monitoring recent tensions in the South China Sea and countries with claims over the waterway, pledging to push for peaceful solutions for the disputes.

During his visit to Manila in April, Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said Singapore and the Philippines would push for a code of conduct in the South China Sea to reduce Chinese aggression in the waterway.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi said the Philippines and Indonesia have agreed to cooperate in drafting a code of conduct.

ASEAN and China have been discussing drafting the code since 2002, with both sides trying to expedite the measure.

In November, Mr. Marcos said he had approached Malaysia and Vietnam to discuss drafting a code of conduct, citing limited progress in striking a broader regional pact with Beijing.

“An impending war is a different matter when it happens in our own country,” Mr. Escudero said. “I hope this heat will subside and the dialogue will still continue.”