THE impending memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Philippines and China for a joint committee on maritime cooperation is a potentially useful tool to ensure stability in the disputed South China Sea, but judgment would be better suspended in the absence of its full text.
This is according to Mr. Steven Rood, country representative for the Philippines and Pacific Island Nations of The Asia Foundation, whose comment was sought for this story, amid a joint statement by the Philippines and China released by the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs on Friday, Oct. 21.
The MoU is among a list of 13 “Signed Cooperation Documents” that serves as an annex to the joint statement.
“[I]n the end we’ll have to see what this joint committee accomplishes now that it has been established,” Mr. Rood said in an email to BusinessWorld.
Despite an international tribunal’s ruling reinforcing the Philippines’ stake in its maritime dispute with China over the South China Sea, President Rodrigo R. Duterte agreed to “cooperation” with China on the matter.
The joint statement is notable, among other things, for duly acknowledging the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS) -- the basis of last July’s arbitral ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague in favor of the Philippines. Although China rejects the ruling, it is a signatory to UNCLOS.
“Both sides commit to enhance cooperation between their respective Coast Guards, to address maritime emergency incidents, as well as humanitarian and environmental concerns in the South China Sea, such as safety of lives and property at sea and the protection and preservation of the marine environment, in accordance with universally recognized principles of international law including the 1982 UNCLOS,” read a joint statement by the two increasingly collaborating states.
Mr. Rood believes “increased communication between the two coast guards would be very useful.”
“The Chinese vessels confronting Filipino fishermen at Scarborough Shoal are coast guard ships. And the Philippine coast guard is expanding its fleet with new boats from Japan. So, there is likely to be more proximity of the two forces,” he said.
The memorandum further cements Beijing’s commitment to the 2014 Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea, an international agreement that helps prevent incidents at sea from escalating, Mr. Rood explained.
Mr. Rood added that the China-Philippines agreement “does not amount to giving up claims to the West Philippine/South China Sea.”
“The 2012 incident began with the Philippine Coast Guard trying to enforce fishery laws as Chinese fishermen were accused of harvesting endangered species. It would be useful if the Chinese Coast Guard can be persuaded to help with this kind of maritime cooperation to protect the environment,” he explained further.
The cooperation documents are a result of Mr. Duterte’s four-day state visit to Beijing -- widely acknowledged in terms of the Philippines seeking economic cooperation with China, and also seen by political watchers as a diplomatic coup initiated by Manila in Beijing’s behalf.
The trip, however, has also been further complicated by Mr. Duterte’s latest offensive remarks against Washington. Before an audience of businessmen on Thursday night, he publicly announced “my separation from the US,” among other remarks that immediately prompted the baffled response of Washington and others keenly following this geopolitical development.
The US, amid its security direction of pivoting to Asia, had backed the Philippines in its historic case before the Hague tribunal. But Mr. Duterte, along with his series of tirades against Washington, has contradicted the US position with his pivoting toward China.
The Philippines’ comprehensive, 47-point joint statement with China affirmed several areas of further bilateral cooperation.
Trade and investments were at the forefront of Mr. Duterte’s mission. But the resulting joint statement also covered such wide-ranging areas as science and technology, infrastructure, agriculture, education, diplomacy, and even defense cooperation -- as well as cooperation in anticrime efforts, notably Mr. Duterte’s war on illegal drugs.
Mr. Duterte early in his administration had singled out China as a source of drug trafficking hounding the Philippines.
In contrast, the joint statement said in part: “To further strengthen the efforts to fight against illicit drugs, both sides agree to establish operation mechanism for joint investigation on special cases and intelligence collection purposes.”
“The Philippines thanks China for its offer of assistance in personnel training and donation of drug detection, seizure, and testing equipment to aid in the fight against illicit drugs,” the statement also said.
One cooperation document in that area is the “Protocol on Cooperation between the Philippines Drug Enforcement Agency and the Narcotics Control Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security of the People’s Republic of China.”
In diplomacy, “[t]he Philippines welcomes China’s proposal to open a Consulate-General of the People’s Republic of China in Davao in due course.”
“Proper arrangements for the diplomatic premises in both countries will be made in the spirit of the 1975 Joint Communique, on the basis of international practice and reciprocity, with priority for the most immediate concerns,” the statement also said, referring in part to diplomatic initiatives toward China by the Marcos regime in the 1970s.
Notable too was the joint statement’s acknowledging the international bodies to which the US is also a party.
“Both sides affirm their continued cooperation in UN, ASEAN Regional Forum, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, Asia-Europe Meeting, World Trade Organization, UN Climate Change Conference and other regional and multilateral organizations,” the statement went, adding:
“Both sides reaffirm adherence to sovereign equality, non-intervention, and non-interference enshrined in the UN Charter and reiterate their common commitment for the protection and promotion of human rights through dialogue and cooperation in light of the core human rights instruments to which both countries are parties to.
“Both sides support the enhancement of the UN’s role through necessary and reasonable reforms. Both sides held that pushing for the implementation of development issues, upholding the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries, enhancing the voice and representation of developing countries in international affairs should be the priorities in the reform of the UN, including the Security Council, and increasing the role of developing countries in UN decision-making.”
On the economic front, other agreements in the list of cooperation documents include:
A “Memorandum of Understanding between the National Economic and Development Authority [NEDA] of the Republic of the Philippines and the National Development and Reform Commission of the People’s Republic of China for Developing Cooperation on Production Capacity and Investment.”
Another agreement covering NEDA is the MoU with “the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China on Formulation of the Development Program for Economic Cooperation.”
A “Memorandum of Understanding between the Department of Transportation and the Department of Public Works and Highways of the Republic of the Philippines and the National Development and Reform Commission of the People’s Republic of China on Transportation Infrastructure Cooperation Project List.”
A “Memorandum of Understanding between the Department of Trade and Industry of the Republic of the Philippines and the Ministry of Commerce of the Government of the People’s Republic of China on Strengthening Bilateral Trade, Investment and Economic Cooperation.”
A “Memorandum of Understanding between the National Economic and Development Authority of the Republic of the Philippines and the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China on Formulation of the Development Program for Economic Cooperation.”
A “Memorandum of Understanding between the Department of Finance of the Republic of the Philippines and the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China on Supporting the Conduct of Feasibility Studies for Major Projects.”
A “Memorandum of Understanding on Financing Cooperation between the Export-Import Bank of China and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines, represented by the Department of Finance.”
source: Businessworld
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