China creates an enemy

How China made the Philippines an enemy when the two countries could have been close collaborators in this part of Asia is the topic of one chapter in the book “The Rise of China vs. The Logic of Strategy” by Edward N. Luttwak. The book was recommended to me by Chito Sta. Romana, president of the Philippine Association for Chinese Studies.

Chito is a graduate of De La Salle University-Manila and was the Beijing Bureau head of the American Broadcasting Corporation (ABC News). He was then considered as ABC News’ China expert and is now the foremost China expert in the Philippines. By the way, he speaks, reads and writes perfect Mandarin.

Here are selected paragraphs, from the book, that I found especially interesting:

“From a Chinese and strategic point of view , the Philippines was little more than an extension of the United States until September 16, 1991, when the Philippine Senate amid great display of emotion voted 12 to 11 to reject a treaty that would have leased the Subic Bay Naval Station to the US for another ten years. Instead the last US sailor departed on November 24, 1992 and by then the United States had already evacuated Clark Air Base which had been heavily damaged by a 1991 volcanic explosion.”

After analyzing the reason why the Senate possibly rejected the treaty, Luttwak then discussed the effects on the Philippine-China relationship. He wrote:

“Although the 1991 vote did not repeal the 1852 US Philippine Mutual Defense Treaty, it did remove all American forces and then changed fundamentally the strategic disposition of the country, potentially opening it up to Chinese influence as never before. There were impediments, to be sure, including a historic Chinese ethnic presence in the Philippines that had negative as well as positive aspects and strong links with Taiwan – though the Philippines preceded the United States for four years in switching diplomatic recognition to the People’s Republic of China on June 9, 1975. Overall, however, the Chinese were very well positioned to supplant the United States as the benevolent greater state on the scene that could gradually evolve into a potentially protective power.”

Opinion ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1

There was a period, especially during the presidency of Gloria Arroyo, when it seemed that there was a real possibility of China supplanting the United States as the main source of investments for the Philippines. This was the period of major Philippine government officials, including President Arroyo and the First Gentleman were reported playing golf in China and meeting with possible investors in private conferences.

This was the time the NBN-ZTE deal was in the works. There were even serious negotiations for China to build and finance the construction of the Luzon North Rail and South Rail. It seemed that we would see a railway linking the Ilocos coast with the Bicol region.

Two events stopped these deals and eventually ended any chance even of a renegotiation. The first reason was that the NBN-ZTE and North Rail became entangled in allegations of bribery and other scandals that implicated GMA, the First Gentleman and Romulo Neri.

The second and bigger reason was the increased conflict in the West Philippine Sea between the Philippines and China. It became serious when China suddenly declared ownership of islands and reefs within the Philippine maritime boundaries.

In April 5, 2011, the Philippines sent to the United Nations Secretary what is called in diplomatic parlance as a Note Verbale. The official letter to the UN said that the Kalayaan Island Group (Spratly Islands) “claimed and occupied by the Philippines constitutes an integral part of the Philippines...” This was before the Philippines agreed to a mutual withdrawal from the disputed islands. The Philippines withdrew as per agreement, but the People’s Republic refused to withdraw.

The Chinese replied to the Philippine Note Verbale on April 14 2011 in a language that left no room for diplomatic negotiation. Here are excerpts from that Chinese Note  Verbale:

“China has undisputed sovereignty over the islands in the South China Sea and adjusting waters...its related rights and jurisdiction are supported by abundant historical and legal evidence...The contents of the Philippine Note  Verbale...are totally unacceptable to the Chinese government.

The so-called Kalayaan Island Group claimed by the Republic of the Philippines is in fact part of China’s Nansha Islands...Since 1970s the Republic of the Philippines started to invade and occupy some islands and reefs of the Chinese Nansha Islands...These acts constitute infringement upon China’s territorial sovereignty. Under the legal doctrine of “es injuria jus nun oritur” the Philippines can in no way invoke such illegal occupation to support its territorial claim.”


There were many geopolitical consequences arising from the escalation of tensions between the two countries. Here are excerpts from Luttwak’s book explaining some of these consequences:

“Since then, Sino-Philippine relations have unfolded in the different ways that have become normal under deadly workings of what was earlier defined as China’s acquired strategic deficiency syndrome: China’s overbearing, even threatening conduct has driven the Philippines back into a protective relationship with the United States.

No Sino-Philippine war is imminent, but there already is warlike conduct by way of sudden occupations and overnight constructions and by maritime harassments...It can definitely be said that Sino-Philippine relations have evolved very dynamically...there is nothing like a territorial claim pressed aggressively, if the aim is to ruin amity....Once again, Chinese conduct has driven a possible partner into the arms of the United States.”

Chapter 19 of Edward Luttwak’s book is the story of how the People’s Republic of China turned the Philippines from a potential ally into an unwilling but now a clearly defiant enemy.

Email: elfrencruz@gmail.com

source:  BREAKTHROUGH By Elfren S. Cruz (The Philippine Star)

China’s new map covers West Philippine Sea

China has unveiled a new map of its entire country that shows its claim over the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) marked by not just nine but 10 dash lines around the region.

Xinhua, a government run news agency, published the photo of the map on its website on June 24 at around 8:00 p.m (China time). The photo caption reads: “Islands in South China Sea share the same scale with mainland and are better shown than traditional map.”

The photo of China’s new map. (Xinhua/Bai Yu)

The new map created by Hunan Map Publishing House shows China claiming the West Philippine Sea which stretches down the coasts of Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia.

The ruling Communist Party’s official People’s Daily on its website said the islands of the South China Sea on the traditional map of China are shown in a cut-away box that causes readers not to “fully, directly know the full map of China.”

Meanwhile, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Spokesperson Charles Jose told Manila Bulletin Online that China’s publication of the new map is “precisely such ambitious expansionism” that causes tensions in the West Philippine Sea.

“We reiterate that such a publication only shows China’s unreasonably expansive claim that is clearly contrary to international law and UNCLOS,” Jose said in a text message.

The Philippines has been embroiled in a dispute with China over ownership of the West Philippine Sea.

The West Philippines Sea is a major shipping lane that is rich in oil and natural gas reserves.


source:  Manila Bulletin

Japan should have role in fixing Asia conflicts, Australia says

JAPAN should play a bigger part in resolving conflicts in the Asia-Pacific region, where it is caught up in a territorial dispute with neighbor China, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said.

“We see Japan taking an ever increasing role in some of the areas of conflict, some of the challenging environments,” Bishop said in a phone interview from Tokyo on Thursday.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is seeking to reinterpret the country’s pacifist Constitution to allow it to defend allies, as part of a broader push for influence in the region as China asserts itself as an economic and military power.

Japan and China are embroiled in a dispute over islands in the East China Sea and China is pressing its claims to a large part of the South China Sea, a major trade route.

Japan has a right to collective self-defense, Bishop said after concluding “two-plus-two” meetings with Defense Minister David Johnston and her Japanese counterparts, Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera.

“We support Japan’s desire to achieve peace and security for the long term in our region,” she said. “We welcome Japan’s efforts to play an even greater role in regional affairs and global affairs.”

Abe, who has increased defense spending two years in a row, used the Shangri-La security forum in Singapore last month to outline his efforts to toughen Japan’s defense posture and pledged to aid Southeast Asian nations in their disputes with China over territory.

He framed Japan’s plans for a more active contribution to security as the path for “new Japanese.” That prompted Chinese Lt. Gen. Wang Guanzhong to call Abe’s comments provocative.

Chinese fighter jets on Wednesday flew “abnormally close” to Japanese military surveillance planes in the East China Sea, the second incident in less than a month, Japan’s Ministry of Defense said. Ships and planes from the countries have tailed one another around the islands known as Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese since Japan bought three of them from a private owner in 2012.

While China is committed to a peaceful rise in power in the Asia-Pacific, a strong US presence in the region is vital to prosperity and stability, Bishop said.

“Our point in all of our discussions, whether it be with the United States or Japan or China or any of the Asean countries, is that there must be a peaceful resolution to these territorial claims,” Bishop said, referring to the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations. “The key to managing disputes in the South China Sea is to ensure that the Asean countries continue to engage in negotiations for a code of conduct.”

Australia is also seeking to build its defense capacity. The world’s 12th-largest economy must balance its interests between the US—a strategic ally that has Marines based in the northern Australian city of Darwin—and top trading partner China, which Bishop criticized last year for proclaiming an air defense identification zone over the East China Sea.

Australia, which is in talks to potentially use submarine technology from Japan, on Wednesday reached a “substantial conclusion” to negotiations with Kishida and Onodera in their bid for cooperation in sharing defense equipment and technology, the nations said in a joint statement. Further details are expected next month when Abe addresses the Australian parliament in Canberra, Bishop said on Thursday. 

source:  Bloomberg News / Business Mirror

South China Sea contract to be extended

FORUM ENERGY Plc will be granted a two-year extension of its contract for an exploration area located in a disputed part of the South China Sea, a Cabinet official yesterday said.

The firm, majority owned by Philex Petroleum Corp., has said it needs more time to drill appraisal wells called for under Service Contract (SC) 72, which will expire in August 2015.

“We will grant it. The usual two years [extension]. We don’t have any reason not to grant it,” Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho L. Petilla told reporters yesterday.

A meeting, “hopefully within this week or next week”, will be held with Forum Energy officials, he added.

Manuel V. Pangilinan, Philex Petroleum chairman, last month said that Forum Energy needed more time to conduct exploration work.

SC 72, granted by the Energy department in February 2010, upgraded a concession acquired by Forum Energy in April 2005. It includes an obligation to drill the wells by August 2011 but this was extended last year to August 2015 to avoid further inflaming a row with China, which claims most of the resource-rich South China Sea.

Mr. Pangilinan has said that rig mobilization will take around 12-18 months, so Forum Energy was looking to commence drilling activity in the Sampaguita gas field “sometime in the first or second quarter of 2016”.

Philex Petroleum holds a 60.49% interest in Forum Energy, which in turn holds 70% interest in SC 72.

Mr. Pangilinan also confirmed that Forum Energy was reviving talks on a possible partnership with China National Offshore Oil Corp. to develop the prospect.

Shares of Philex Petroleum shed one centavo or 0.14% to close at P7.10 apiece yesterday. -- Claire-Ann Marie C. Feliciano

source:  Businessworld

Vietnam urges China to withdraw oil-drilling rig in disputed area

Vietnam’s United Nations ambassador urged China on Tuesday to withdraw its oil rig and more than 100 ships from the South China Sea to create “an environment” for negotiations on the disputed waters.

But Ambassador Le Hoai Trung said in an interview with the Associated Press that Beijing refuses to engage in dialogue and insists there is no dispute, claiming the area around the rig belongs to China.

The escalation in tensions is the most serious in years between Vietnam and its massive northern neighbor, which claims nearly all of the South China Sea.

China sent the rig into the disputed waters on May 1, provoking a confrontation with Vietnamese ships, complaints from Hanoi and street protests that turned into bloody anti-Chinese riots. Hundreds of factories were damaged, and China said four of its citizens were “brutally killed” and over 300 wounded.

Trung said “some extreme elements” provoked by China’s deployment of the rig undertook actions which the government “very much regrets.” He said many suspects have been arrested and prosecuted, and the government has taken measures to prevent a repetition of the violence.

Both Vietnam and China have taken the dispute over the rig to the United Nations, circulating rival documents among the UN General Assembly’s 193 member- states. Vietnam has said it is considering legal action against China in an international court. China has accused Vietnam of “illegally and forcefully” disrupting the rig’s operation by sending armed ships and ramming Chinese vessels.

The oil platform is about 32 kilometers (20 miles) from the China-controlled Paracel Islands, which Vietnam claims, and 278 kilometers (173 miles) from the coast ofVietnam.

Trung said Vietnam has “the legal basis and historical evidence to affirm our sovereign rights over the area” where the rig is deployed, which the country says is part of its exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.

The ambassador said China’s refusal to discuss the dispute is provocative and raises “serious concerns.”

“We don’t want to be provocative with this issue,” he said. “We want to have negotiations, to have dialogue, or any other means of peaceful settlement of the dispute.”

He added, “Up until now we exercise our restraint, but of course we always, like any other country, reserve the right of self-defense.”

Trung stressed, however, that after decades of war the Vietnamese people want peace “and friendly relations with China.”

source:  AP / Business Mirror

China sea claims have no basis: SC Justice

CHINA’S NINE-dashed line claim in the West Philippine Sea could not be supported by evidence, a Supreme Court (SC) Justice said, pointing to ancient maps and historical data which debunk Beijing’s claims over disputed waters.

“Clearly there is nothing ‘historical’ or ‘right’ about China’s nine-dashed line claim. The nine-dashed line claim is based not on historical facts but on historical lies,” Associate Justice Antonio T. Carpio said in 63-page report.

“In sum, China’s so-called ‘historical facts’ to justify its nine-dashed lines are glaringly inconsistent with actual historical facts, based on China’s own historical maps, Constitutions and official pronouncements,” he added.

Mr. Carpio said China has no historical link to Scarborough Shoal.

“The rocks of Scarborough Shoal were never bequeathed to the present generation of Chinese by their ancestors because their ancestors never owned those rocks in the first place,” Mr. Carpio said.

Mr. Carpio, citing historical maps and data, pointed out that China’s southernmost territory of China “has always been” Hainan island, the smallest and southernmost province of the country.

“The southernmost territory of China under its imperial dynasties was always Hainan island, and has remained so under several Constitutions of the Republic of China,” Mr. Carpio said.

Mr. Carpio has been among the vocal critics of China’s nine-dashed line, which claims almost the entire South China Sea, encroaching the 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of countries around the disputed waters, including that of the Philippines.

A United Nations arbitral tribunal has already asked China to answer the Philippines’ plea on overlapping claims in the West Philippine Sea.

China, however, said it would not participate in the proceedings. The Philippines, has submitted to the tribunal its memorandum asserting its claim to disputed islands within the West Philippine Sea through a 4,000-page, 10-volume “memorial” serving as proof of its sovereignty within its 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone.

The country’s move to seek international arbitration prompted China to accuse the Philippines of violating morality and international law to resolve the territorial dispute.

Meanwhile, the government is yet to verify reports that China is planning to build a military base at the disputed Kagitingan Reef, a Malacañang official said yesterday.

“The report that China is building up on the Fiery Cross Reef was reported over the weekend on a Chinese newspaper, so that still needs verification,” Presidential Spokesperson Edwin S. Lacierda told a press briefing yesterday, adding he does not want to comment on questions regarding the options of the Philippines in case China declares an air defense identification zone (ADIZ) over the West Philippine Sea.

“On the ADIZ over South China Sea, that is purely speculative at this point, so hypothetical at this point, so we don’t want to speculate,” he said.

DIPLOMATIC TRACK
The Palace Spokesman reiterated the country will continue to push the diplomatic track against the escalating tensions over the West Philippine Sea, amid China’s seeming expanded activities in the disputed shoals.

Mr. Lacierda noted that the country’s move for a peaceful resolution to disputes has been gaining approval from the international community.

He said the Philippines does not want to further escalate the tensions over the contested waters.

“We will continue to resort to the diplomatic track that we have resorted to and that particular track has been gaining approval from the international community,” Mr. Lacierda said.

“Certainly, we do not want to escalate any tensions in the South China Sea. That is not what we are there for and, therefore, the best thing that we can do is to resort to the diplomatic mechanism,” he added.

Mr. Lacierda said that with the growing support for a peaceful resolution to the maritime rows from the international community, the country is hoping that China will change its mind and participate in arbitration initiated by the Philippines to resolve the territorial disputes among countries in Asia.

“People seem to underestimate the power of the diplomatic track, [but] we believe that with the international community’s support, we can persuade China to act as a responsible member of the international community. And also that China realizes the importance of being a member of the international community in good standing,” Mr. Lacierda said.

NEWS REPORT
Mr. Lacierda’s statement comes on the heels of a South China Morning Post report on Saturday indicating that China plans to put up a military base in the disputed Kalayaan Island Group amid escalating tensions over maritime territorial rows with regional neighbors in Asia.

In its report, South China Morning Post said: “A military base will be built after the planned expansion of an artificial island located on Fiery Cross Reef”, which the Philippines refers to as Kagitingan Reef.

The planned military base, the report noted, will feature an air strip and a port which will also house storage facilities for military supplies. An observation post on the reef already exists, the report added.

Should China push through with the said plan as announced, the Asian economic giant will have the most strategic outpost in the heart of the disputed territories over the West Philippine Sea, the Spratly Group of Islands, Professor Jay L. Batongbacal of the College of Law Maritime Affairs and Law of the Seas of the University of the Philippines (UP) said.

“It makes perfect strategic sense in terms of asserting its claim such bases will enable China to carry out its current operations versus other claimant countries on a continuous basis 24/7 operations,” he told BusinessWorld in a text message.

In terms of its strategic competition with the US, Mr. Batongbacal added that a base in the West Philippine Sea, “is essential to be able to monitor and constrain US naval movements.”

“A base in the South China Sea is China’s solution to US increased rotational presence in the region. A full-blown military base will also support China’s military movements. Instead of making do with small outposts that have limited capacity and capability to support maritime operations, bases will give China all the capabilities it needs to elbow everyone else out of their current position,” Mr. Batongbacal further explained.

ASEAN MEETINGS
Meanwhile, the Philippines also renewed its call for the peaceful, rules-based resolution of disputes in the West Philippine Sea and South China Sea during high-level meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), ASEAN Plus Three (APT), East Asia Summit (EAS) and ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in Yangon, Myanmar.

Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Evan P. Garcia, Philippine Senior Official and Head of Delegation to the meetings, emphasized that recent provocative and unilateral actions by China constitute an infringement on the rights of the Philippines and other countries under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and a violation of the 2002 ASEAN China Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DoC).

He called on all parties to exercise self-restraint as provided by paragraph 5 of the DoC, citing that these unilateral actions “raise the level of tensions to a new high and undermine the spirit of good neighborly ties and mutual confidence necessary for the region to move forward and decisively to implement the DoC fully and effectively.”

Mr. Garcia stressed the urgency for ASEAN and China to expeditiously conclude a substantive and legally binding Code of Conduct in the disputed waters. Noting that the Arbitral Tribunal has fixed Dec. 15, 2014 as the date by which China should submit its response to the Philippine memorial, Mr. Garcia noted that the Philippines has invited China from the very beginning to take part in the peaceful, rules-based process to clarify the extent of its maritime claims before the international community.

He said the Philippines called for regional maritime norms which are compliant with international law to promote good order at sea, to serve as confidence-building measures and to reduce risks of miscalculation.

The series of meetings hosted by Myanmar, chair of ASEAN this year, began last Saturday, to prepare for the Ministerial Meetings in August.

The said meetings reviewed the progress of regional cooperation in comprehensive areas and discussed strategic and security issues affecting the Asia-Pacific region.

Aside from calling for a peaceful means to mend ties with China over escalating tensions, the Palace Spokesman maintained the Philippines’ relationship with the Asian economic giant is not solely dependent on the conflict with them in the South China Sea or the West Philippine Sea.

“Again, our relationship with China is multi-faceted, plus the fact that we have a number of Filipino-Chinese members in our country. We have always had very good relations with China in the other areas of exchange -- people-to-people, tourism, trade -- so I think it should not be a concern for us because, again, we have a very rich relation with China which is not limited to the current situation in the West Philippine Sea,” Mr. Lacierda said.

He added that President Benigno S. C. Aquino III is set to attend today, the joint celebration of the 116th Philippine Independence Day and 13th Filipino-Chinese Friendship Day at the Manila Hotel, organized by the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (FFCCCII).

Mr. Lacierda said the President will deliver a speech, during which, he will highlight the contributions of the Filipino-Chinese community not only to the growth of our economy but also to the enhancement of civic life.

The joint celebration marks the 13th Filipino-Chinese Friendship Day, the Palace Spokesman added, which is celebrated on June 9. Ambassador Zhao Jianhua of the People’s Republic of China will also deliver a message.

Earlier, the President confirmed China has expanded its activities on the disputed waters revealing he has received reports on the presence of Chinese ships in more areas in the disputed shoals over the West Philippine Sea, particularly in Gavin Reef and Cuarteron Reef in the Kalayaan Group of Islands.

Last month, the Philippine government tagged China’s reclamation activities in Mabini Reef as “illegal” accusing Beijing of violating the DoC.

The Chinese activity was first monitored by the Philippines in February 2014. On May 15, the Department of Foreign Affairs released photos of China’s “destabilizing” moves in the disputed seas.

‘A FARCE’
China yesterday expressed displeasure after Vietnamese and Filipino troops played sports together on a contested island, with the foreign ministry denouncing the activity as “a farce.”

The retort from Beijing came a day after Vietnam hosted Filipino troops on an island it controls in the disputed Spratlys archipelago in the South China Sea that the Philippines’ Navy said was designed to “foster camaraderie.”

Asked about the joint sports activity, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a regular briefing: “Don’t you think that these small tricks conducted by the Philippines and Vietnam are nothing but a farce?”

She also urged Hanoi and Manila to “refrain from taking any actions that may complicate or magnify the dispute” and said that China “exercises indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha Islands and adjacent waters”, referring to the Spratlys by their Chinese name. -- with Imee Charlee C. Delavin (Businessworld) and AFP

Snubs, harsh words at Asia security meet as US and Japan rile China

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - When Japan's defence minister greeted the deputy chief of staff of China's army at a regional security forum this weekend, he was undiplomatically snubbed.

Lieutenant General Wang Guanzhong said he was incensed by comments from Japananese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe implicitly holding China responsible for territorial disputes in the East and South China Seas and later by U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel's accusations that Beijing was destabilising the region.

"When Mr Abe spoke just now, there was veiled criticism targeted at China," Wang told Japanese Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera, according to the semi-official China News Service. "These accusations are wrong and go against the standards of international relations."

The exchange between the world's three biggest economies at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, a security forum for government officials, military officers and defence experts, were among the most caustic in years at diplomatic gatherings, and could be a setback to efforts to bring ties back on track.

It was the first such major conference since tensions have surged in the South China Sea, one of Asia's most intractable disputes and a possible flashpoint for conflict.

Tellingly, despite around 100 bilateral and trilateral meetings taking place over the week, officials from China and Japan did not sit down together.

China's Wang had rejected an offer of talks with Japan and said: "This will hinge on whether the Japanese side is willing to amend the erroneous policy towards China and improve relations between China and Japan. Japan should correct its mistakes as soon as possible to improve China-Japan ties."

Wang later accused the United States of hegemonism, threats and intimidation.

China claims almost the entire oil- and gas-rich South China Sea, and dismisses competing claims from Taiwan, Brunei, Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia. Japan has its own territorial row with China over islands in the East China Sea.

Riots broke out in Vietnam last month after China placed an oil rig in waters claimed by Hanoi, and the Philippines said Beijing could be building an airstrip on a disputed island.

Tensions have been rising steadily in the East China Sea as well. Japan's defence ministry said Chinese SU-27 fighters came as close as 50 metres (170 ft) to a Japanese OP-3C surveillance plane near disputed islets last week and within 30 metres of a YS-11EB electronic intelligence aircraft.

On Sunday, Wang stepped up the rhetoric.

"Mr Abe, as the head of a country and as someone the organisers have invited to give a speech, is supposed to stick to the event's aim in boosting security in the Asia Pacific region," he said. "However Mr Abe went against the aim of the event by instigating disputes."

Despite the heated words, analysts do not believe relations have deteriorated beyond reach.

"In the past, there was a sense we were sailing towards stability," said Kishore Mahbubani, dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore.

"Now people worry. Overall, things are going in the right direction. Nobody thinks there will be war, but there is a level of unease which is new."

JAPAN'S COMING OUT

China has been particularly aggrieved by Japan trying to woo Southeast Asia.

In his keynote address to the conference, Abe pitched his plan for Japan to take on a bigger international security role and said Tokyo would offer its "utmost support" to Southeast Asian countries in their efforts to protect their seas and airspace. It is part of his nationalist agenda to loosen the restraints of the pacifist post World War Two constitution and to shape a more muscular Japanese foreign policy.

Philip Hammond, the British defence minister, said Abe's agenda was well know but provoked a response because it was laid out publicly.

"It's certainly the first time I had heard him articulate it on a public platform in that way," he said.

Japan's growing proximity to Washington is also a worry for Beijing.

"What really worries them is that Japan and the U.S. are in a very strong alliance and seem to be pulling closer, that was clear at this year's dialogue," said Tim Huxley, executive director of the International Institute of Strategic Studies in Asia, the organiser of the forum.

"Rightly or wrongly, that will be seen by the Chinese as threatening them because it will mean they will be facing a more coherent alliance."

Still, the row is not likely to spill over. The three nations have deep economic and business ties, which none of them would like to see disrupted.

"Relations are definitely not at a breaking point," said Bonnie Glaser of the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies and a regular visitor to the dialogue.

"Leaders are aware that their countries have huge stakes in this relationship and they are committed to trying to find areas where interests do overlap, where they can work together."

Beijing, she said, had compartmentalised various aspects of its relationship with Japan and the United States. "There is a wider strategy from China, though we don’t see that here, partly because it's a security forum."

William Cohen, a former U.S. secretary for defence, said the strong words from the United States and Japan were necessary.

"China is growing, it's maturing, it's also feeling its oats a bit and throwing its weight around. That is normal if they see no counterweight. It's incumbent upon us to say, okay, there are limits. These things have to be said."

(Additional reporting by Chyen Yee Lee; Editing by Alex Richardson)

source:  Yahoo! and Reuters

Japan 'deeply worried' by China-Vietnam maritime spat

Japan said on Thursday it was "deeply worried" by China's behaviour in a spat with Vietnam over contested waters, and urged Beijing to rein in its "provocative" actions.

The comment comes after Hanoi said Chinese vessels rammed its patrol ships and turned water cannon on them near a controversial drilling rig in a disputed patch of the South China Sea.

It also comes as Japan and China continue to face off in their own territorial row over a small island grouping in the East China Sea and amid claims that Beijing is becoming increasingly assertive.

"We have strong concerns as there is information that many Vietnamese vessels were damaged and some people were injured," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters in Tokyo.

"We are deeply worried as regional tensions have risen with China unilaterally starting rigging activities in disputed waters" in the South China Sea, the top government spokesman said.

"We recognise this incident is part of China's unilateral and provocative maritime activities," he said.

Suga said China should explain to Vietnam and the international community the basis on which it was acting and added Japan strongly wants China to refrain from provocative moves and "act in a self-restrained manner".

Hanoi said Wednesday that Chinese ships protecting a deep-water drilling rig in disputed waters had used water cannon to attack Vietnamese patrol vessels and had repeatedly rammed them, injuring six people.

Tensions between the communist neighbours have risen sharply since Beijing unilaterally announced last week it would relocate the rig -- a move the United States has described as "provocative".

Vietnam deployed patrol vessels after the China Maritime Safety Administration issued a navigational warning on its website saying it would be drilling close to the Paracel Islands -- which are controlled by China but claimed by Vietnam.

The two countries, who fought a brief border war in 1979, have been locked in a longstanding territorial dispute over the waters, and frequently trade diplomatic barbs over oil exploration, fishing rights and the ownership of the Spratly and Paracel Islands.

China claims sovereign rights to almost the whole of the South China Sea, leading to disagreements with other countries that surround the sea, chiefly with the Philippines, which has proved willing to stand up for itself.

Beijing's dispute with Japan is one of the more volatile flashpoints in regional relations, with both sides deploying paramilitary vessels -- backed at a distance by naval ships -- to the contested Senkaku islands, which China calls the Diaoyus.

The disputes have given common cause to Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam, with Manila particularly welcoming of Tokyo's moves to toughen up its defence stance, which it sees as offering a counterbalance to growing Chinese power.


source:  Yahoo!

China shelves Recto gas talks

Philex Mining Corp. and China National Offshore Oil Co. Ltd. have temporarily shelved talks over the joint development of the gas-rich Recto Bank in South China Sea, an area claimed by both Manila and Beijing.

Philex Mining chairman Manuel Pangilinan said negotiations between the two companies had stopped and that there were no plans to revive the talks soon.

Philex Mining owns 64.45 percent of Forum Energy Plc, which holds a 70-percent interest in Service Contract 72, including Recto Bank.  CNOOC is an upstream oil and gas firm owned by the Chinese government.

“We have not heard from them in a few months… Well, I guess by default. There is no communication to that effect.  The communication just died down,” Pangilinan said.
He said there were no plans yet to revive the talks with CNOOC. “For a moment, there’s no plan. We are busy for some other matters,” he said.

Pangilinan earlier expressed hope about forging an agreement with CNOOC that would pave the way for exploratory drilling at SC 72, which covers an 8,800-square kilometer area west off Palawan. SC 72 is estimated to contain as much as 16.6 trillion cubic feet of gas and 416 million barrels of oil.

“We would hope to do that...reach a commercial basis to further exploratory and drilling work on the concession but further subject to approval of their government and our government,” Pangilinan said earlier.

Pangilinan also said having CNOOC as a partner could defuse the political tensions hounding SC 72.
“I cannot predict the political situation, but if, and if, that is a speculative if…They are a state-owned clearly identified with China, so I’m assuming the political aspects would recede in the background,” Pangilinan said.

Pangilinan said Forum was keen on developing SC 72, but security issues under the territorial dispute prevented them from doing so.

He said Forum wanted to conduct exploratory drilling “as soon as possible,” or once the security issues were addressed.

 Forum Energy’s work program called for the drilling of two exploratory wells until August 2015.
 “We are a Philippine contractor so we are bound by Philippine law so we cannot do that if we do not conform to Philippine laws. We have to recognize Philippine sovereignty,” Pangilinan said.
 

source:  Manila Standard Today

Intl support for PH in sea disputes ‘growing’

Malacañang on Tuesday said international support for the Philippines’ position on the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) is “growing” even beyond the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) where a code of conduct is being hammered out among claimant countries to settle the disputes.
“There are other international bodies that are providing support such as the European Union and the European community. So we will just continue to rely on expressions, manifestations and demonstrations of international solidarity,” said Presidential Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. on Tuesday.

He noted that besides the “willingness on the part of the affected member nations to concretely spell out the parameters for addressing the issues in the South China Sea or in the West Philippine Sea,” a US State Department statement calling on Beijing to “refrain from provocative actions in the South China Sea” was a welcome development.

“We are also rallying our people to be cognizant of the important national interest that is at stake,” Coloma added.

In the light of the US government’s statement of support, the Palace official said President Benigno Aquino 3rd and US President Barack Obama are most likely to discuss security issues at the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) during the latter’s visit in Manila later this month.

“Defense and security will definitely be a topic in the talks between President Aquino and President Obama. And when you talk of this topic, the most relevant issue that can be discussed would be the West Philippine Sea. So, it is entirely within the realm of possibility,” Coloma told a press briefing in Malacanang.

US State Department deputy spokesperson Marie Harf called on Beijing to “refrain from provocative actions in the South China Sea” following an incident near the disputed Ayungin Shoal (Second Thomas Shoal) where Chinese coastguard ships tried to block a civilian ship from sending supplies to soldiers stationed there.

The State department official also described last Saturday’s incident as “destabilizing.”
“As a treaty ally of the Republic of the Philippines, the United States urges China to refrain from further provocative behavior by allowing the Philippines to continue to maintain its presence at Second Thomas Shoal (Ayungin Shoal),” she said.

Besides the sea disputes, Coloma said the two leaders are also likely to tackle the planned rotational presence of American troops in Philippine military camps.

“There are other issues that will be tackled since what is involved here is strategic partnership between two countries,” the Palace official said.

Coloma also explained that there are several avenues for multilateral action, one of which is the Asean, where leaders have agreed to flesh out the decade-old declaration of the Code of Conduct.

Another avenue, he explained, is through arbitration as shown by the Philippines’ filing of a memorial before the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea.

“Our claims on the territories in the West Philippine Sea are sufficiently amplified and justified in our filing of the Memorial,” Coloma further said.

“We are doing what is needed. We are doing what we are capable of doing in terms of the actual conditions obtaining the West Philippine Sea,” he added.

Coloma stressed that all the steps the government has taken were “in consonance with the policy of pursuing our position in a peaceful and democratic manner while enjoining the international community to join cause with us in asserting the primacy of the rule of law.”

source:  Manila Times

Countering Beijing’s octopussy diplomacy

The recent brazen moves of Chinese maritime surveillance vessels operating over 1,100 kilometers from China’s coast to prevent Philippine civilian vessels from resupplying the tiny marine garrison aboard the BRP Sierra Madre beached on Ayungin Shoal, 200 km from Palawan, are steps in the execution of the so-called “cabbage strategy” articulated last year by Chinese General Major General Zhang Zhaozhong. The aim is to surround Bajo de Masinloc, Ayungin Shoal and other Philippine territories in Spratly Islands with a massive Chinese naval presence to starve Filipino detachments and prevent reinforcements from reaching them.

A cabbage is the wrong image for such a bellicose approach.  Perhaps it is time to call it what it really for is: an “octopus strategy” designed to strangle our forces island by island, reef by reef, till they drive us out of Pag-asa Island that is the strategic center of the municipality of Kalayaan of the province of Palawan.

With China dead-set on imposing its ridiculous claims using its naval advantage, the Philippine government must respond in ways that maximize our advantages.  To borrow James C. Scott’s terms, we must deploy the “weapons of the weak.”

Weapons of the weak
First of all, we must press our legal advantage.  The submission of the 4,000-page “memorial” delineating our entitlements in the West Philippine Sea to the United Nations Arbitral Tribunal is a giant step in this direction.  Beijing knows it does not have a leg to stand on in international law, which is why they have been pushing us to drop the case on pain of “damaging bilateral relations.”  As Vietnamese analysts told me during a recent visit to Hanoi, our raising the case to the United Nations blindsided Beijing and upset China’s careful calculations. According to one expert on Chinese diplomacy, “the reason they’re upset is because they already have five battlefields—the political, diplomatic, mass media, security, military—and now you’ve added a sixth: the legal battlefield.” Beijing, in other words, feels very much at sea on the legal front, where experts in international law will be calling the shots.

Second, we must up the diplomatic ante.  President Benigno Aquino III must summon Ambassador Zhao Jianhua to Malacañang and tell her in no uncertain terms that our country will tolerate no further aggressive moves.

We must also press our Asean partners to remind Beijing to live up to the commitment to negotiate a binding code of conduct on maritime behavior in the West Philippine Sea that it made at the foreign ministers’ meeting in Brunei last year.  Having been attacked and humiliated by the Chinese government and state media during the MH 370 crisis, Malaysia, which is one of the Spratly claimants, is probably now more open to collective Asean action on the South China Sea since it just experienced what feels like to be at the other end of China’s bullyboy diplomacy.  As for Vietnam, we should press it to move to more active cooperation with us, including implementation of the joint Vietnamese-Philippine naval patrols in the South China Sea that both governments agreed to in 2012. We should underline to both countries and to the fourth Asean claimant, Brunei, that Beijing is playing salami tactics with Asean, that once it finishes with the “weakest link,” they’re next.

Still on the diplomatic track, we should prepare the ground at the United Nations General Assembly for the eventual introduction of a resolution condemning Beijing’s unilateral annexation of over 80 per cent of the South China Sea, brusquely disregarding other littoral states’ rights to their continental shelves and 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zones.  There’s a very good recent precedent: Beijing’s aggressive annexationism based on its arbitrary Nine Dash Line claim is essentially similar to Russia’s gobbling up of Crimea, which the General Assembly condemned last week. 

Not entirely powerless
Third, we must not neglect the military side of things, though we should tread carefully here since this is where Beijing is strong.  But we are not entirely powerless.  China’s maritime surveillance ships may be big but they cannot operate in shallow waters owing to their deep drafts.  Relying on civilian craft with experienced pilots that can move deftly in and out of shallow waters to pierce the blockade of Ayungin Shoal, as one supply ship was able to do successfully a few days ago, will do for now.  But we should be prepared for all eventualities, including that of being forced to resort to resupplying the Ayungin garrison with air drops.  The Philippine Air Force has several medium sized aircraft, like the P3 Orion long-range maritime surveillance plane based in Puerto Princesa, that can be outfitted for light resupply missions.  We must remember that while our air force is small and weak, China’s suffers from the “tyranny of distance.”  As former Westcom chief General Juancho Sabban pointed out, the Chinese mainland is so far away that by the time Chinese military aircraft get to the Spratlys, they are low on fuel and have to turn back.

We must also reinforce the garrison at Ayungin.  Bringing up the troop complement to platoon size would be a strong message to the world that we mean business and will defend Ayungin from all trespassers.  Of course, such a defensive move will evoke protests from Beijing, but we have every right to reinforce our garrison with personnel and modern arms that will assure the defenders a minimum level of security and lend credibility to our government’s commitment never ever to give up the reef.

Economic development:  Key to permanent possession
Finally, we must accelerate the development of Pag-asa Island, the strategic center of the Kalayaan Island group of seven reefs and two islands that belong to us.  The development of modern harbor facilities is long overdue.  When Reps. Ben Evardone, Kaka Bag-ao, Teddy Baguilat, and I visited Pag-Asa as members of a Peace and Sovereignty Mission from Congress in July 2011, we came away with a strong sense of the potential of the island as a fishing station and tourist site, and this was a message that we carried to our executive agencies.  It is time that Malacañang moves on long-proposed economic development plans, something that the Chinese, Vietnamese, and Taiwanese have apparently undertaken in the parts of the Spratly archipelago they occupy.  Once things get going, this will lead to a rapid increase in the civilian population from the 300 that are there at present.  A larger civilian population is the key to permanent possession of Kalayaan.
 
INQUIRER.net columnist Walden Bello represents Akbayan (Citizens’ Action Party) in the House of Representatives.  He led a Peace and Sovereignty Mission from Congress to Pag-asa Island in the Spratlys in July 2011.

UN case not a challenge to China—Aquino

SILANG, Cavite—President Aquino on Monday said the government’s decision to pursue the arbitration case in a United Nations tribunal was not intended to provoke China but to defend Philippine territory peacefully.

The President said filing the case in the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (Itlos) was consistent with the country’s policy to resolve the territorial dispute through peaceful means “in conformity with international law.”

“We are not here to challenge China, to provoke them into any action,” he said after leading the 35th commencement exercises at the Philippine National Police Academy here. “But I do believe that they should recognize [that] we have the right to defend our own interests.”

Speaking a day after the government submitted to the Itlos a 4,000-page “memorial” detailing its case, the President said defending a country’s territorial integrity was something Beijing would have done too if it were the Philippines.

Aquino said he “cannot tell the Chinese government what to do” when asked about the possibility of Beijing harassing Philippine vessels even more following the filing of the memorial.

“If they were in our position, on the reverse, would they have acted differently?” he asked.
“Under different conditions, they are the smaller country, they are the less military-capable, they have interests, will they willingly just forgo their interests here? I don’t think so.”

The President paid “special tribute” to the team of soldiers that managed to evade a Chinese blockade and replace the Marine troops stationed at a grounded Philippine Navy ship on Ayungin Shoal.

“They accomplished the mission without, I believe, increasing the tension and did it in a way that didn’t pose a threat to any other country, again consistent with the peaceful approach,” he said.

“But we had to change the personnel there and provide them the wherewithal to survive on Ayungin Shoal.”

Beijing earlier warned that bilateral relations between China and the Philippines would suffer if Manila proceeded with the arbitration case. China has been insisting on a bilateral approach to settle the territorial dispute, an option that the Philippines has rejected.

On March 9, the Chinese Coast Guard prevented a Philippine vessel from providing fresh supplies to Marine troops manning the grounded BRP Sierra Madre on Ayungin Shoal.

Last Saturday, a Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources ship on a similar resupply mission was blocked by China. But the vessel managed to complete the task by maneuvering to shallow waters where the much bigger Chinese ships could not follow.

Peaceful resolution
Aquino said Ayungin Shoal was “clearly within” the Philippines’ 370-kilometer exclusive economic zone.

He said the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos) provided a “rules-based” approach to “counterclaims” by “every coastal state that has certain entitlements and rights.”

By filing the case based on the provisions of Unclos, the Philippines wants to ascertain “who is entitled to what, what are the rights of each one, what are the obligations of every state,” he said.

“What are our options with regard to the whole issue of the West Philippine Sea in the South China Sea? I subscribed to this oath when I assumed office. I have to defend [our] national territory and our sovereignty,” he said.

“We went to arbitration primarily because that is a means to resolve the dispute consistent with the policy of peaceful [resolution] and in conformity with the international law.”

Asked how confident he was that the Philippines could secure a favorable decision at the Itlos, Aquino said, “It’s difficult to speak with finality at this point in time.” 

The President instead noted that the decision to seek arbitration was the product of a “consensus” following a meeting with former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte and “senior members of the Cabinet who are focused on this issue.”

China reiterates rejection
The Chinese Embassy on Monday quoted Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei as rejecting arbitration and accusing the Philippines of “illegal occupation of some of China’s islands and reefs.”
Hong said the Philippines agreed to China’s position to settle disputes through direct negotiations in a series of bilateral documents and in a 2002 declaration signed by Beijing and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) on the conduct of parties in the South China Sea.
“The Philippines is obliged to honor its own commitment,” he said.

As a party to Unclos, China also declared in 2006 that such disputes were excluded from arbitration, Hong added.

Code of conduct
Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose said Manila “never ruled out anything” with regards to resolving the dispute. He said it was up to the tribunal to determine if the case could be subject of arbitration.

That 2002 nonbinding declaration on the South China Sea was seen as a first step to forging a binding agreement. China has only reluctantly agreed to open consultations and has lobbied some Asean members to prevent consensus.

Aquino expressed frustration that after more than a decade of talks between Asean and China, “we still have no code of conduct.”

“So what are our options with regards to the whole issue,” he said. “I have to defend national territory and our sovereignty.”

The Philippines has urged other claimants to join the arbitration case, but none has done so publicly. China, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam have overlapping claims across the busy South China Sea.

China has asked claimants to settle the disputes through one-on-one negotiations, an advantage for Beijing because of its sheer size and clout. It has also warned Washington not to get involved.

US backs PH move
In Washington, US State Department deputy spokesperson Marie Harf backed the Philippines’ action, saying “all countries should respect the right of any states party, including the Republic of the Philippines, to avail themselves of the dispute resolution mechanisms provided for under the Law of the Sea Convention.”

“We hope that this case serves to provide greater legal certainty and compliance with the international law of the sea,” she said in a statement on Sunday.

She reiterated a longstanding US position that all parties refrain from taking unilateral actions that are “escalatory and destabilizing, to clarify their respective maritime and territorial claims in accordance with international law, and to commit to the peaceful management and resolution of disputes.”—With reports from Christine O. Avendaño and AP

SOURCE:  Philippine Daily Inquirer 

China rejects PH argument on territorial row

MANILA, Philippines—China on Monday said it would not accept and participate in the written argument submitted by the Philippines to the United Nations (UN) International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (Itlos) .

“China does not accept the international arbitration initiated by the Philippine side. Disputes such as these have already been excluded from arbitration procedures through a declaration made by China in 2006 pursuant to the United Nations Convention on the Laws Of the Sea (Unclos),” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told Chinese reporters in a press briefing.

Hong said China urges the Philippines to adhere to using bilateral talks to resolve the maritime dispute.
Hong added that the direct cause of the dispute was the Philippines’ illegal occupation of some Chinese islets adding that China held a clear and consistent stance on its claims over the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

According to Hong, China has “indisputable sovereignty over the Ayungin Shoal and its adjacent waters.”

Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose , meanwhile, said the Philippine government maintains its position to resolve the maritime dispute in a peaceful and diplomatic manner.

“We have been advocating peaceful settlement of the dispute without resorting to force or threat of force,” Jose said in an interview over Inquirer Radio 990AM.

Jose said the written argument or memorial submitted by the Philippines to the arbitration committee of the United Nation is the “most peacful, durable and lasting solution” to the maritime dispute.

He said the UN arbitral tribunal would continue the hearing of the  written memorial submitted by the Philippines even without China’s  participation and approval.

On Sunday,  the Philippines submitted a 4,000-page written pleading of the Philippines before an international tribunal against China’s expansive claims over the West Philippine Sea.

Chinese coast guard  vessels on Saturday blocked a civilian Philippine ship off the Ayungin Shoal in the Spratly Islands .

The civilian ship brought supplies to Philippine soldiers stationed at the BRP Sierra Madre that has been grounded at the Ayungin Shoal, an area within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, but which China claims as its own.

source:  Philippine Daily Inquirer

Philippines to challenge China sea claim before UN

MANILA, Philippines - Despite Chinese requests to delay it, the Philippines is filing on March 30 its memorandum challenging before the United Nations China’s territorial claims over the South China Sea.

The memorandum, called a Memorial in international law, will be filed with the Arbitral Tribunal of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) at The Hague in the Netherlands, contesting China’s 9-dash line territorial rule.

Under the 9-dash line rule, China claims almost the whole of the South China Sea as part of its territory, but the Philippines and three other Southeast Asian nations are staking various claims to parts of the area.

Sources said the Chinese government had asked President Aquino through back channels to wait a little longer before filing the Memorial.

A delay in the filing would be seen as an indication of Philippine willingness to improve ties with China, a source quoted a Chinese official as saying.

China has informed the Philippines it will reciprocate accordingly, and will withdraw its ships from Bajo de Masinloc (Panatag Shoal to Filipinos, Huangyan island to the Chinese) to restore the relationship to where it was before April 8, 2012.

The source said China considers the suit, filed in January 2013, as an obstacle to improving its ties with the Philippines.

“We don’t expect the Philippines to withdraw the suit because we understand that national pride is at stake,” a Chinese official reportedly told counterparts in the Philippines, the source said. “But we hope you can delay it."

The Chinese official reportedly added, “In our culture, bringing someone to court is like assaulting him.”

China also said that if the Philippines delays filing the claim, it would not establish a South China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) like it did in the East China Sea which included air space over the Japanese-controlled Senkaku islands.

An ADIZ is airspace in which the country that imposed it requires identification, location and control over civil aircraft passing through that zone, in the interest of national security.

China also said once the “obstacle” is removed, the Philippines can expect increased economic opportunities, including the promotion of the Philippines as a tourist destination.

Philippine-China ties have been strained since April 8, 2012, when the lone Philippine warship BRP Gregorio del Pilar apprehended Chinese fishing vessels in the Bajo de Masinloc area, 124 nautical miles off Zambales, prompting China to send Chinese Marine Surveillance (CMS) ships to the area.
At the height of the 57-day standoff, more than 80 Chinese vessels surrounded two Philippine ships—one from the Philippine Coast Guard and the other from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources—that had replaced the Gregorio del Pilar.

On June 4, 2012, the Philippines pulled out the two ships and never sent any back to the area but China kept three there.

On Jan. 27, 2014, the Armed Forces of the Philippines reported that Filipino fishermen were sprayed with water when they got near the Chinese Coast Guard ships.

China’s request was discussed in a Jan. 30 special cabinet meeting, where the President gave Solicitor General Francis Jardeleza a free hand in handling the case.

In a media briefing at the UP Law Center last month, Jardeleza disclosed that the Arbitral Tribunal acceded to the Philippine request not to separate the jurisdiction aspect from the merits of the case.
“Jurisdiction and merits will be discussed in the Memorial together,” Jardeleza said, adding that this will gave the Philippines the “tactical advantage.”

“We are very strong on the merits and by discussing the merits more and more you gain an advantage hoping to convince the tribunal that they should take the case and rule that they have jurisdiction,” he said.

Legal experts are concerned that the UNCLOS Arbitral Tribunal would consider the issues raised by the Philippines as territorial disputes. The Tribunal decides only on disputes on overlapping maritime zones, while the International Court of Justice (ICJ) decides on territorial disputes.

In the ICJ, however, both parties would have to agree to submit the dispute to the Court. China has refused to participate in the case filed by the Philippines.

Justice Antonio T. Carpio, in a speech before the Philippine Women’s Judges Association early this month said, “The Philippines’ arbitration case against China is solely a maritime dispute and does not involve any territorial dispute.”

Carpio added: “The Philippines is asking the tribunal if China’s 9-dash line can negate the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) as guaranteed under UNCLOS. The Philippines is also asking the tribunal if certain rocks above water at high tide, like Scarborough Shoal, generate a 200 nautical mile (NM) EEZ or only a 12 NM territorial sea. The Philippines is further asking the tribunal if China can appropriate low-tide elevations (LTEs), like Mischief Reef and Subi Reef, within the Philippines’ EEZ. These disputes involve the interpretation or application of the provisions of UNCLOS."

Jardeleza said the Philippines in the Memorial will not ask the court to say who owns Panatag shoal. “We are arguing that they are within our Economic Exclusive Zone and therefore under the rules of UNCLOS we have exclusive rights to fish within that area."

Jardeleza summed up the Philippine line of argument in the Memorial to convince the Tribunal that it has jurisdiction: “Our claim is a very narrow one, land dominates the sea. This is not a case about land; this is a case about the maritime waters which is perfectly under UNCLOS.”
Jardeleza said he expects the Court to give China time to respond before it starts the hearing. It may call for oral arguments or ocular inspection. He said it may take the Tribunal three years to decide from the date of the filing in January 2013.

The Arbitral Court panel of judges is headed by Thomas Mensah from Ghana. Members are Rudiger Wolfrum from Germany, Stanislaw Pawlak from Poland, Jean-Pierre Cot from France, Alfred Soons from The Netherlands.

The Philippine legal team is headed by Paul Reichler, a Washington-based lawyer from the Foley Hoag law firm, British law professors Philippe Sands and Alan Boyle, and Bernard Oxman from the University of Miami's Law school.

Jardeleza said the public declarations of Southeast Asian countries, the United States, and even the European Union against the 9-dash line strengthens the Philippine case.

“We are a small country but we plan to win big in this,” Jardeleza said.

(VERA Files is put out by veteran journalists taking a deeper look at current issues. Vera is Latin for truth.)

source:  Philippine Star (Vera Files) | Updated March 27, 2014