THE top diplomat of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations warned
over the weekend that China’s new policy of boarding and searching ships
entering disputed territories in the region could spark naval clashes.
“It certainly has increased the
level of concern and great anxiety among all parties, particularly parties that
would need the access, the passage and the freedom to go through,” said Asean
Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan.
The South China Sea, which Manila
calls the West Philippine Sea, includes crucial international shipping lanes
through which more than a third of global trade is carried.
Wu Shicun, director general of
the foreign affairs office of Hainan Province, said Chinese ships would be
allowed to search and repel foreign ships only if they were engaged in illegal
activities and only if the ships were within the 12-nautical-mile zone
surrounding islands that China claims.
But Wu did not define what would
constitute “illegal activities.”
The new law, passed by the
legislature of Hainan province, came less than a month after Xi Jinping was
named China’s new leader.
Sources said the Hainan
province’s new policy reinforces fears that Xi would be adopting a more
aggressive stance over conflicting maritime claims in the region.
Surin said the new policy on the
disputed territories, considered to be the region’s biggest potential military
flashpoint, could affect the business climate in Asia.
President Benigno Aquino III said
if reports on the new policy are true, the Philippines will lodge a diplomatic
protest.
He said it could also speed up
the filing of a formal claim before the International Tribunal on the Law of
the Sea.
The United States on Saturday
said that it does not take sides in the competing claims in the West Philippine
even as it urged claimant countries to “avoid provocative unilateral actions.”
US embassy spokeswoman Bettina
Malone said Washington’s interest remained focused on the freedom of navigation
and unimpeded lawful commerce in the West Philippine Sea.
“All concerned parties should
avoid provocative unilateral actions that raise tensions and undermine the
prospects for a diplomatic or other peaceful resolution of differences,” Malone
said.
“We believe all parties should
pursue their territorial and maritime claims in accordance with international
law, including as reflected in the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention,” she added.
Mr. Aquino said the planned
action by China is a gross violation of the United Nations Convention on the
Law of the Sea.
The Department of Foreign Affairs
said it would also violate the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the
South China Sea, which Asean hopes to transform into a legally binding Code of
Conduct.
On Friday, Beijing Foreign
Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said it was their “right” to impose a coastal
border defense regulation.
“Every country has the right to
carry out maritime management according to law,” Hong said.
“China has indisputable
sovereignty over the islands in the South China Sea. The Huangyan island is
China’s inherent territory and there is no sovereignty dispute over it,” Hong
added.
On Sunday, Senator Miriam
Defensor Santiago said China was just testing the waters with the announcement
of its policy, and said it would not actually board vessels passing through
disputed waters because of the United States would stop it from doing so.
Interviewed over radio dzBB,
Santiago also described the current tension in the region as “a fight between
two giants” – China and the United States.
Joyce Pangco
Panares
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