The whitepaper, released yesterday by China’s State Council Information Office, accused the Philippines of “having increasingly intensified its infringement of China’s maritime and interests”.
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That statement had expressed alarm over Beijing’s activities in the South China Sea and the fiasco highlighted the bloc’s inability to maintain a united front against Chinese expansionism.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said Mr Yasay, representing Mr Duterte, would “discuss within the context of Asem’s agenda the Philippines’ peaceful and rules-based approach on the South China Sea and the need for parties to respect the recent decision”.
“What we want is to quiet things down so these issues can be addressed rationally instead of emotionally”, said one U.S. official, quoted in Reuters.
The Philippines brought the case against China in the Court, arguing that the land formations claimed by Beijing in the South China Sea are not islands and therefore are not entitled to 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zones.
China claims nearly all of the resource-rich South China Sea, even over territory also claimed by the Philippines as well as Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam.
Democrat Ben Cardin of Maryland, a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said confrontation is less likely if the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam and other countries work with the United States rather than on their own.
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China boycotted the arbitration hearings and described them as a farce. It calls on all claimant states to rein in actions that could escalate tensions in the South China Sea, pending a permanent settlement to the maritime territorial dispute. Such a move, though high risk, may also produce great long-term benefits. A more unsafe move is the (very public) introduction of weapons into the artificial islands already built in the South China Sea. The U.S. which has key defense treaties with many allies in the area, as well as the other regional countries, is now concerned that China’s reaction may lead to renewed military action on the ground and/or in the water. China had earlier declared an area in the East China Sea as its air defence zone following disputes with Japan. US challenged those claims by ordering a warship into waters near the artificial islands. As for building a Chinese artificial island at Scarborough Shoal, President Barack Obama has already warned President Xi against this step. It will loudly denounce the PCA ruling but do little else, waiting for the dust to settle.
