Once again, Cambodia has tried to pull a fast one on the Philippines and
other Asean countries involved in territorial disputes with China. Last Sunday,
Prime Minister Hun Sen of Cambodia, host of this year’s Asean summits, declared
that the regional bloc had reached a consensus: Negotiations regarding
territorial claims in parts of the South China Sea (the West Philippine Sea to
Manila, the East Sea to Hanoi) would be held within an “Asean-China” framework.
In fact, there was no such
consensus, and President Aquino acted in the Philippines’ best interests when
he reminded his Cambodian counterpart of that fact, in another conference that
followed on Monday.
“There were several views
expressed yesterday on Asean unity [that] we did not realize [would] be translated
[into] an Asean consensus,” Secretary Herminio Coloma quoted Mr. Aquino as
saying.
Coloma’s own gloss on the
President’s remarks is helpful in drawing the context: “The President’s
statement speaks for itself. It points out that the statement of the chairman
is not consistent with his own recollection or with his own understanding of
the context of what has been discussed so far, and he stated it plainly and
simply.”
To be sure, the Asean leaders did
agree on one significant point. They asked China to begin negotiations with
Asean “as soon as possible” on the so-called code of conduct that would govern
competing maritime claims in the area; China had agreed to the use of such a
code 10 long years ago.
But on the matter of an exclusive
Asean framework for the resolution of the territorial disputes, Hun Sen saw
unity where in fact there was none.
We wish to be clear: We have long
advocated that the territorial claims involving the Kalayaan Islands be
resolved in part through Asean intervention. And if we understand the Aquino
administration’s total approach correctly, working through Asean remains part
of its strategy. There is a particular necessity to this line of approach,
because Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei are also involved in territorial disputes with
China.
We must also note that the
“Asean-China” framework is an advance on last July’s failed summit, when
Cambodia, a staunch Chinese ally, ruled out any mention of the disputes in the
proposed joint statement.
The consequent imbroglio marked
the first time ever that the Asean bloc failed to issue any closing communique.
But the Asean route was never
envisioned to be exclusive.
“The Asean route is not the only
route for us,” President Aquino quite rightly said at the conclusion of the
Monday conference.
The supposed “Asean-China”
framework for negotiation is host Cambodia’s answer to the Chinese demand not
to “internationalize” the disputes. Now this is high-stakes diplomacy, where
the use of key words is carefully calibrated; to both China and Cambodia,
“internationalize” means to bring in the Americans.
It would be foolish for the
Philippines to agree to the do-not-internationalize approach, however, not
because we depend on the United States militarily, but because we must depend
on international law and the United Nations legally. That is where the real
long-term solution to the conflict lies.
Hence the President’s clearing of
the air: “The Asean route is not the only route for us. As a sovereign state,
it is our right to defend our national interest.”
The President’s remarks took on
additional resonance in the context of the forum in which they were said,
because the occasion of the Monday conference was the Asean-Japan summit.
Japan, too, has a long-running territorial dispute with China, a dispute
complicated by the two countries’ entwined history (Japan invaded China in the
1930s) and perhaps especially by their economic future (China has eclipsed
Japan as the world’s second largest economy).
We can get a sense of this
contentious relationship from an unusual exchange in the Laotian capital of
Vientiane last week.
“Whatever claims or assertion
nations may have, Japan will settle disputes in a peaceful manner based on
international law,” Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said at the Asia-Europe
Meeting. An unremarkable statement, which drew from the Chinese foreign
minister the following intemperate reply: “Japan should stop challenging the
postwar international order.”
When China hears “peaceful
manner” and thinks “challenge to postwar order,” countries like the Philippines
must defend its right to understand “international” according to its own
national interest.
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