Philippine Daily Inquirer
Apparently
referring to Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario’s tirades against
China during the Asean meeting in Phnom Penh, Chinese Foreign Minister
Yang Jiechi pointed out that “Huangyan Island has always been part of
the Chinese territory and is not a disputed island.” AP/Sakchai Lalit
The Philippines should “face facts squarely and not make trouble”
over Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, China said after successfully blocking
Manila’s attempt last week to win regional support in its territorial
dispute with Beijing in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).
A Chinese newspaper also chided the Philippines for “disgracing”
itself with its “high-pitched verbal provocations” for which it had no
matching “military or diplomatic influence.”
China is seeking to picture the Philippines as alone in its effort to
get the country’s dispute with China over Panatag Shoal mentioned in a
joint statement at the close of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (Asean) foreign ministers’ meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, last
week.
But Malacañang insisted Monday that the Philippines had the support
of the majority of the 10 Asean nations on the dispute. The bloc,
however, failed to issue a joint communiqué because Cambodia, an ally of
China and this year’s host, blocked the mention of the conflict in the
statement.
Cambodia’s actions caused acrimony that led to the group’s failure to
issue a joint statement, the first time in 45 years that the bloc’s
annual meeting ended without such a statement.
Communications Secretary Ricky Carandang said the Philippines wanted
to see Cambodia “to be more supportive” in the Asean leaders’ summit in
Phnom Penh in November.
There is little chance of that happening. On Sunday, Cambodia,
echoing China’s line, said the Panatag Shoal dispute was not a regional
issue.
Panatag dispute
Returning to Beijing from the failed Asean talks on Friday, Chinese
Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi spoke “in response to the remarks by some
individual country on the Huangyan Island incident” at the Asean foreign
ministers’ meeting.
Huangyan Island is how the Chinese call Panatag Shoal, which the
Philippines also calls Bajo de Masinloc. The horseshoe-shaped coral and
rock formation in the West Philippine Sea is well within the
Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) recognized under the United
Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Although a signatory to the
convention, China refuses to recognize the Philippine EEZ and insists
the area is its territory.
Apparently referring to Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario’s
tirades against China during the Asean meeting in Phnom Penh, Yang
pointed out that “Huangyan Island has always been part of the Chinese
territory and is not a disputed island.”
The Philippines disputes the Chinese claim. In early April,
Philippine authorities caught Chinese fishermen poaching sharks and
collecting rare clams and corals at Panatag Shoal, but China prevented
the arrest of the fishermen by sending ships to block the path of a
Philippine law-enforcement vessel.
What followed was a two-month maritime standoff between the two
countries. Two Philippine vessels faced off with seven Chinese ships at
the shoal until stormy weather forced an end to the confrontation in
mid-June.
Shocked, surprised
According to Yang, “the Chinese people were shocked and surprised by the Huangyan Island incident.”
He had a different account of the standoff. “(On April 8) the
Philippine side sent a naval vessel to hurt the Chinese fishermen on
China’s territory,” Yang said. “What they did caused wide concern and
strong indignation among the Chinese people.”
Pressure on China
The Global Times, one of China’s top newspapers, said in an editorial
published Monday that “Manila attempted to exert pressure on China
through the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, but the request was
rejected by the majority of Asean members.”
Like Japan and Vietnam, the Philippines only humiliated itself, said
the paper, which is published by the People’s Daily, the mouthpiece of
the Chinese Communist Party.
“The Philippines has been the most embarrassed by its futile action,”
the Global Times said. “Manila didn’t have the military or diplomatic
influence to match its high-pitched verbal provocations.”
In an earlier editorial, the Global Times said “the Philippines and Vietnam deserve to be punished.”
“If they go to extremes in their provocations against China, it is
likely that they will be punished through means including military
strikes,” the paper said.
But China, it added, “definitely will be very cautious in making such decisions.”
Duplicity, intimidation
At the Asean meeting, Del Rosario denounced Chinese “duplicity” and “intimidation” in the West Philippine Sea.
“If Philippine sovereignty and jurisdiction can be denigrated by a
powerful country through pressure, duplicity, intimidation and the
threat of the use of force, the international community should be
concerned about the behavior,” Del Rosario said, referring to the
Panatag Shoal standoff.
Stressing that Asean needs to “speak with one voice,” US Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton joined Del Rosario in urging Asean to take a
common stand on the Panatag Shoal dispute and on other Chinese
incursions in the West Philippine Sea.
Clinton issued the call for a unified Asean stand on the eve of her
meeting with Yang on the sidelines of the Asean ministerial meeting.
Economic talks
On Monday, Senator Panfilo Lacson proposed bilateral economic negotiations with China to resolve the Panatag Shoal dispute.
Lacson, chairman of the Senate defense committee, told a news forum
that it would be more prudent to “set aside for the meantime the issue
of sovereignty” and “talk about joint exploration.”
The issue of sovereignty, he said, is “nonnegotiable” because “Panatag Shoal is ours.”
Lacson advised against confrontational engagement with China. “I
think they are reasonable enough to see that what we want is the same
thing they want, which is to explore resources,” Lacson said.
But the Philippines, he said, does not have capital. “It would be
wise if we talked with them regarding the resources that we cannot
harness on our own,” he said. With reports from Christine O. Avendaño and Jeanette I. Andrade
1 comment:
Philipine & Viet can say, what ever they wanted. ASEAN was only able to resilve the internal problem between ASEAN Member-Countries.
If Viet and Philipins have the problem with China, they should complain at the UN council and not at the ASEAN, because China is not member of the ASEAN.
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