“In a David versus Goliath scenario, the Philippines would have been helpless; by filing the case, we have shifted it from a two-party settlement and submitted it to a third-party decision-maker in the tribunal”, he said.
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“China is a peace-loving country and deals with foreign relations with discretion, but it won’t flinch if the USA and its small clique keep encroaching on its interests on its doorstep”, state-run Global Times said in an editorial today.
(Liao Zhengjun, Zhang Penghui of People’s Daily) – The South China Sea arbitration unilaterally initiated by the Philippines was a weak substitute for realistic but honest foreign policy, and the United States should have urged the Philippines to return to a diplomatic resolution, an American expert on foreign policy said.
The worldwide arbitration tribunal was constituted based on UNCLOS following petition by the Philippines, which along with Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan reject China’s claims over nearly all of the SC. “And also, meanwhile, speed up the consultations on the COC, code of conduct in the South China Sea”.
The Philippines, under Benigno Aquino’s previous administration, filed in 2013 a legal challenge with a UN-backed tribunal in The Hague contesting China’s claims to almost all of the strategically vital sea.
China continued to steam on Friday, with foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei describing the case as “a violation of worldwide rule of order under the cloak of championing it”, and state-run media warning Beijing would not take a “single step back” in the dispute.
More than 30 African countries have voiced support for China’s stance, Hong said.
Yasay signalled on Friday that Duterte would be making no such analogies, emphasising his administration would seek to ensure the best possible relations with China.
The navy Friday carried out “combat exercises” with “live missiles” between the Paracels and the southern Chinese island of Hainan, the PLA Daily, the military’s official newspaper, said on its website.
It could turn Scarborough Shoal an islet it wrested from Philippine control in 2012 “into a military outpost”, it said, and “tow away or sink” an old landing craft Manila grounded on the Chinese-claimed Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratlys to “resolve the standoff once and for all”. That regime allows for 12 nautical miles of territorial waters from islands and rocks and 200 nautical miles of Exclusive Economic Zone from islands that can sustain ordinary human habitation.
“The resources there are God-given for all and for everyone to enjoy”.
“Although China is legally bound to its result, it has refused to participate and has clearly said it will not comply”.
“I would like to be forward-looking on these matters”, he said when asked to comment on Aquino’s Nazi statement.
Yasay, however, insisted the Philippines would not concede any of its rights in the sea. The foreign minister urged the United States to honor its commitment to not taking sides on issues related to sovereignty disputes, to be prudent in its actions and words, and to not take any action that infringes upon the sovereignty and security interests of China.
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Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte.
