Duterte to seek ‘soft landing’ with China after dispute ruling

MANILA - President Rodrigo Duterte said Thursday he would seek a “soft landing” after a United Nations-backed tribunal decides on the Philippines’ protest against China’s sea claims in two weeks.

While a favorable ruling for Manila would be a “moral victory,” Duterte said it would also put the government in an “awkward position.”

“It should be a soft landing for everybody, kung meron man, we don’t taunt or flaunt it… We will study progressively kung paano natin magamit,” he said in a televised Cabinet meeting immediately after he was sworn into office.

Duterte’s predecessor, former President Benigno Aquino III, had asked the Hague-based Arbitral Tribunal to declare as invalid Beijing’s claims in the South China Sea. A ruling is expected on July 12.

China responded to the Philippines’ legal challenge by building massive structures fit for military use on the disputed reefs.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay said the ruling could go either way and must be studied carefully.

The decision could also provoke China, he said.

“What if in the face of these circumstances, China will dig in and put us to a test? They will disallow again our fishermen from fishing in Scarborough Shoal,” Yasay said, referring to an outcrop that China has held since 2012, following a tense naval standoff with Philippine ships.

“When the decision will come, we will advise. We will study the case and inform the President and the Cabinet,” Yasay said.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, which hosts vital shipping gains over vast oil and gas reserves.

Aside from the Philippines, its claims overlap with those of Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

source:  ABS-CBN News

Philippines v China: facts about a much-watched legal battle

A UN-backed tribunal is expected to soon deliver a verdict on a Philippine challenge to China's claims to most of the South China Sea.

Spanning three years, two hearings, and nearly 4,000 pages of evidence, the arbitration case at The Hague is complex.

In essence, China claims most of the sea, even waters approaching neighbouring countries, based on a vaguely defined "nine-dash" Chinese map dating back to the 1940s. The Philippines disputes this.

Here are the key facts on the case:

- What is the tribunal and what are its powers?

The tribunal was set up by the Permanent Court of Arbitration, an intergovernmental organisation established in 1899. The PCA has 116 member states, including the Philippines and China. It is allowed to arbitrate on certain matters of international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

The five-member tribunal hearing this case is composed of top maritime affairs experts, with the Philippines appointing one member. China waived its right to choose one arbitrator.

The tribunal has the power to set the rules of procedure and make a decision that cannot be appealed. However the tribunal and the PCA have no means to enforce the verdict, with compliance left to parties.

- What are Manila's key points?

The Philippines has presented five main claims before the tribunal:

1. China is not entitled to exercise what it calls "historic rights" over waters beyond limits defined in UNCLOS, a treaty to which both the Philippines and China are parties.

2. China's "nine-dash line" has no basis under international law.

3. The various maritime features relied upon by China to assert its claims in the South China Sea are not in fact islands and, as such, are not legally capable of generating such entitlements. China's recent massive artificial island-building does not change the situation.

4. China violated UNCLOS by preventing the Philippines from exercising its fishing and exploration rights.

5. China has irreversibly damaged the environment by destroying coral reefs, using harmful fishing practises, and catching endangered species in the South China Sea.

- Why did Manila take the action?

The Philippines said, after 17 years of negotiations with China, it had exhausted all political and diplomatic avenues to settle the dispute.

The Philippines calls international law "the great equaliser" allowing small countries to challenge more powerful states. A nation of about 100 million, the Philippines has one of Asia's weakest militaries, and its economic and diplomatic clout pales in comparison with China's.

- What is China's position and how will it react?

China denies the tribunal has jurisdiction on the issue and insists that it will not abide by the decision.

The country's first move to an unfavourable ruling will be to reject it. But no one is sure what China will do after that. Its response could range from provocative to diplomatic.

On the aggressive end of the spectrum, Beijing may take it as an opportunity to increase its construction activities and further assert its claims by declaring an Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) in the sea, essentially demanding that aircraft transiting it announce themselves to Chinese authorities and follow their instructions.

When it proclaimed one in 2013 that covered islands in the East China Sea disputed with Japan, the move prompted international fury, and Washington made a point of sending warplanes through it without complying with Beijing's rules.

A more diplomatic option would be to try and mount opposition to the ruling in the UN by challenging the tribunal's legitimacy. Beijing claims that more than 60 countries back its position on settling disputes in the South China Sea through direct negotiations, and it could seek to call a vote on the issue in the general assembly. But only a handful of countries have explicitly confirmed they support China's stance.

- If the tribunal can't enforce its ruling and China has vowed to ignore it, what's at stake?

The Philippines hopes a favourable ruling will help to build international pressure on China to make concessions and reverse or stall its expansionist efforts in the sea. For instance, the United States has already said it will call on China to respect the ruling.

The Philippines also hopes a favourable ruling will give it much-needed leverage in any negotiations with China.

source: AFP

Indonesia defends opening fire on Chinese boat

Indonesia on Monday defended opening fire on Chinese sailors as an action aimed at stopping illegal fishing, as China said it had overlapping maritime claims with Jakarta.

Beijing protested strongly over Friday's clash near Indonesia's Natuna Islands in the South China Sea, saying one Chinese fisherman was injured.

The Indonesian navy insisted no one was hurt when it detained seven sailors on a Chinese-flagged vessel after firing warning shots.

It was the third such skirmish in recent months between Indonesia and China near the Natunas, which are west of Borneo, as tensions rise between Beijing and several nations over its growing assertiveness in the disputed South China Sea.

Unlike some of its Southeast Asian neighbours, Indonesia does not dispute ownership of reefs or islets in the sea with China.

But Beijing's claims to fishing rights near the Natunas and some 3,000 kilometers from its mainland appear to overlap with Indonesia's exclusive economic zone around the islands.

Indonesian Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti, who is leading a campaign to crack down on illegal fishing, defended the navy's actions.

"The Indonesian navy made the right move by maintaining the sovereignty of our seas," she tweeted. "The shooting was definitely according to procedure."

She added that "stealing fish is a crime. It is impossible that there is an agreement between countries that allows for stealing fish".

President Joko Widodo met with Security Minister Luhut Panjaitan on Monday following the clash and ordered him to defend Indonesia's sovereignty, presidential spokesman Johan Budi said.

"The president ordered him to defend Indonesia's territorial sovereignty that we have struggled to build up since our independence," he said.

But he added the president wanted this to be done without "affecting good relations". Indonesia's aggressive crackdown on illegal fishing, which began in 2014, has riled several of its neighbours.

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the latest clash took place in "traditional Chinese fishing ground".

"China and Indonesia have overlapping claims for maritime rights and interests," in the area, she told a regular briefing on Monday.

She did not provide a direct answer when asked whether those fishing grounds overlapped with Indonesia's exclusive economic zone.

Indonesia's navy said it intercepted 12 foreign vessels illegally fishing which fled as their warships approached.

Navy vessels pursued and fired several warning shots, until eventually a Chinese-flagged ship was stopped and boarded, it said.

In March Chinese coastguards rammed a boat detained near the Natunas and helped it escape as the Indonesians towed the vessel to shore.

Last month, the Indonesian navy opened fire on a Chinese trawler near the islands and seized the vessel. Beijing said it protested the move.

China asserts authority over almost all the South China Sea, basing its claim on historical documents, despite partial counter-claims from several Southeast Asian nations.

source:  Yahoo!

COMMENT: China splits a leaderless, rudderless Asean

The way China split Asean at a dramatic meeting in Kunming last week has exposed a major vacuum that has plagued the regional group for a while.

Asean’s strongest link is now its weakest link. It doesn’t have a country or politician to provide strong moral and ideological leadership to get a group of 10 countries at different stages of economic, political and social development into speaking with one voice.

How different things were when the regional grouping came into being with just five members in 1967. Then, Asean had a unity of purpose: to make sure that the vacuum left behind by the US military withdrawal from South Vietnam would not be exploited by a communist North Vietnam.

Indonesia’s Adam Malik, Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam and others took the fight to the UN arguing the case to punish a united Vietnam that marched into Cambodia with impunity.

Asean’s fear was that if Vietnam was allowed to get away with its unlawful expansion, it would embolden its military to push south and create a South-east Asia that became a vassal of the communists.

It was a time when the Domino Theory was being pushed by diplomats and academics to stop the communist tide. By working behind the scenes and openly, Asean politicians and diplomats got cracking by denying Vietnam a moral victory in the UN.

Last week’s Kunming meeting showed Asean at its vulnerable worst with China using big money politics, convincing Laos and Cambodia to split Asean.

There was no joint statement. Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, who was co-chair of that meeting, did not sit down with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to talk to the media and Malaysia added to the drama by issuing an Asean statement and then retracting it. 

It seems Laos, the chairman of Asean this time round, was against the proposed Asean joint statement expressing serious concern over China’s adventures in the South China Sea.

The South China Sea has become a big irritant in relations with China. China says the sea belongs to them but the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam have staked their claims, with Manila taking China to the international court in The Hague.

China’s intentions to drive a wedge in Asean are not new. In 2012, Asean foreign ministers ended their annual meeting when China talked chairman Cambodia into keeping the South China Sea off the table.

With most of the other members disagreeing, the customary joint statement was not issued – the first time this has happened in Asean’s 45-year history.

China is opening another beach head with Timor Leste, which is likely to be admitted into the Asean fold soon. China was the first one to recognise the former Indonesian state when it gained independence in 2002 and has poured money into big development projects there.

Resetting the Asean leadership button looks unlikely as Indonesia, the natural leader because of its size, is still trying to sort out the turmoil left behind by strongman Suharto’s downfall. And Singapore, whose diplomatic dance with the important players on the world stage makes it a good choice for Asean leadership, is viewed with suspicion by its neighbours.

Does all this mean Asean will continue its rudderless ride into the stormy waters of the South China Sea? Or will it wait for the problem to solve itself?

Both scenarios can only further weaken the regional grouping. The other possibility is for the regional bloc to abandon its long-held principle of reaching a consensus in its decision-making.

With the next Asean Foreign Ministers’ huddle looming in the background and with China not in the mood to compromise, Asean might have no choice but to move towards a view that the majority should not be held to ransom by the minority.

That is the stark reality facing a grouping that has become an important player in global affairs.

P N Balji is a veteran Singaporean journalist who is the former chief editor of TODAY newspaper, and a media consultant. The views expressed are his own.

source:  Yahoo!