“So these rules have to be China’s rules and the LMC [Lancang-Mekong Cooperation] is going to be that vehicle; that platform”, he said. The case, brought before the PCA late a year ago by the Philippines, is widely expected to reject China’s excessive claims in the South China Sea. The Philippines holds presidential elections on Monday and most of the candidates in the polls have taken a staunch view against China.
Advertisement
Ouyang Yujing, director general of the Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said at a news briefing that “by not accepting or participating in the arbitration unilaterally initiated by the Philippines, China is upholding the sanctity of global law, including that of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)”.
Rappler reported in February that the Davao City Mayor said he was open to share resources in the disputed waters with China.
Russia’s support is particularly significant, both for China and the world at large, because of the growing appearance of an anti-U.S. and anti-Western united front, Yu said. “Meanwhile, we will also step up the regulation of foreign ships”, he said.
Despite the long-running stalemate between Manilla and Beijing over disputed territory in the South China Sea, Duterte has signaled several times that if elected he may soften the country’s stance on the issue.
A fortnight ago, China announced a “consensus” with Brunei, Cambodia and Laos, saying that territorial disputes in the South China Sea should be left to individual states rather than Asean as a whole. They refer to it as the “last straw” and worry that China plans to turn the area into a military base.
In just a few days time, 55 million Filipinos head to the polls to pick their next president.
China is seeing mixed results in its effort to enlist friendly states in its push to exclude the US and its allies from the festering South China Sea dispute, underscoring the limits of Chinese diplomacy despite its massive economic clout. He also suggested he would ride a personal watercraft to the Scarborough Shoal to plant the Philippine flag. His suggested approach is at odds with the current Philippine administration-and the U.
“The overall direction looks set”, said Yanmei Xie, a senior analyst at the International Crisis Group’s Beijing office.
Advertisement
“Certain countries outside the region, coming from thousands of miles away, tried every means to make troubles in the South China Sea, politicized the South China Sea issue and undermined the stability of the South China Sea, so as to cause disturbances and seek geopolitical influence”. Beijing’s new strategy, Medcalf and Townshend point out, forces regional states to assume a degree of cost and risk in assessing China’s latent aggression, complicating their strategic calculi and leading to ineffective responses. “I think Beijing wants to see a decrease or more low-profile US military activities in the region”.
