Manila paddles harder in the South
China Sea By Richard Javad
Heydarian
MANILA - At the recently
concluded UN General Assembly in New York,
Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario
made an emphatic speech to rally global support
for his country's rule of law position vis-a-vis
China over ongoing territorial disputes in the
South China Sea.
"Today my country faces
its most serious challenge to the security of its
maritime domain and integrity of its national
territory, as well as its effective protection of
its marine environment," said Del Rosario. "The UN
Convention on the Law of the Sea has never been
more relevant than it is today, all States must
respect their obligations to settle their maritime
disputes by peaceful means, without threats or use
of force under UNCLOS."
In a veiled
criticism of China's growing assertiveness, he
called for
a "rule-based approach"
to avoid weaker countries from being forced to
accept that "might is right". His speech was a
clear appeal for greater international
intervention while portraying the Philippines as a
responsible member of the international community
- and not just an instrument of America's "pivot"
to Asia to contain China.
Lacking a
credible deterrence capability, the Philippines is
now pouring more time and energy into its
diplomacy, especially towards the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). An ASEAN Summit
meeting to be held in Cambodia later this month
will be attended by global leaders, including US
President Barack Obama, and will be closely
watched for progress on the South China Sea issue.
The 10-member grouping's usual consensus
broke down earlier this year when its members
failed to issue a joint communique due to
differences of opinion on the South China Sea.
While Manila has expressed its commitment to
utilize all instruments of national power,
including revitalized bilateral military ties with
the US, to defend its territorial claims in the
South China Sea, diplomacy appears to have moved
to the center of its overall strategy.
There are basically three reasons for this
strategic shift:
Lingering doubts about the extent of the US's
commitment to the Philippines' defense, especially
in the event of direct confrontation with China
over disputed territories.
A growing emphasis on repairing ties with
China, setting the stage for better relations with
the incoming new leadership in Beijing.
Increasing confidence in an ASEAN-led
multilateral approach, with Brunei (a party to
ongoing conflicts in the South China Sea) poised
to take over the rotational chairmanship of the
organization from Cambodia (a staunch ally of
China). In recent months, the Philippines'
diplomatic offensive has moved forward on multiple
levels. On one hand, the Philippines has
stepped-up its direct bilateral diplomacy towards
China after an earlier backdoor attempt backfired,
creating further acrimony and division within
Manila's leadership. Recent indications are that
the Aquino administration is keen to create a more
positive atmosphere amid the highly sensitive
leadership transition in China.
Owing to
the significance of bilateral economic ties, the
Philippines has become more cautious in projecting
its deepening military relations with the US. In
recent weeks, top Filipino officials, apparently
conscious of China's constant and wary gaze, have
notably toned down their rhetoric.
Manila
has consistently bid to assuage China's strategic
anxieties through reassurances that joint military
exercises with the US are merely defensive in
nature rather than aimed at China. The Philippines
has adamantly emphasized that its military
cooperation with the US is focused on more benign
Non-Traditional Security (NTS) issues rather than
bolstering its South China Sea claims.
The
Philippines most important diplomatic coup,
however, came through its recent hosting of the
third ASEAN Maritime Forum (AMF), which brought
together leading experts as well as high-level
representatives from across the Pacific. The forum
provided a crucial platform for Manila to refocus
ASEAN efforts on the issue of maritime security,
emphasizing the need for regional solidarity and
increased cooperation.
Manila had earlier
failed to win sufficient support for its
diplomatic proposals, especially regarding a
binding regional Code of Conduct (CoC) for the
South China Sea during both the 2011 ASEAN
Regional Forum (ARF) in Indonesia. The 2012 ASEAN
Ministerial Meeting (AMM) in Cambodia, whereby
Phnom Penh - allegedly under Beijing's influence -
blocked even the inclusion of the ongoing disputes
in the South China Sea in the final communique.
With the fate of a regional CoC in limbo
and growing concerns over strategic rifts within
the ASEAN, the Philippines is desperate to inject
some life back into its diplomatic efforts and
steer a more unified regional approach.
Maritime cooperation On October
3, the Philippines hosted the 3rd AMF, a confab
that assembled senior foreign ministry officials
from across Southeast Asia for a three-day event
focused on interrelated maritime issues such as
maritime connectivity, marine environment, sea
piracy, search and rescue at sea, fisheries, and
maritime security.
The forum built on the
conclusions of the 6th East Asia Summit, whereby
EAS leaders underscored the importance of maritime
cooperation and security. Aside from being the
region's primary forum for the discussion of
maritime issues, this year's AMF was also the
first Expanded ASEAN Maritime Forum (EAMF), which
brought together all 18 members of the broader
pan-regional East Asia Summit.
On the last
day of the forum, participation was extended to
include multi-sectorial representatives -
academics, private stake-holders, and government
officials - from eight ASEAN partner countries,
namely Australia, the US, India, Japan, South
Korea, Japan, Russia, China and New Zealand.
Significantly, the Chinese foreign ministry
refused to divulge the identity of its
representatives ahead of the forum, while there
were hints that the Japanese representatives would
attempt to discuss the ongoing dispute with China
over the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands in the East China
Sea.
Filipino officials were
straightforward about their objectives for the
forum. "The Philippines would like to positively
engage our partners to discuss cross-cutting
maritime issues and explore ways and means to
enhance activities aimed at bolstering maritime
security and cooperation in East Asia," said
Foreign Affairs Assistance Secretary Raul
Hernandez.
Simultaneously, the Philippines
expressed its desire to open sensitive discussions
with the Chinese and Americans while rallying
support from both ASEAN members as well as varying
strategic partners across the Pacific for a more
concrete security architecture to oversee ongoing
territorial disputes. The Philippines thus sought
to put ongoing disputes under the spotlight in a
bid to build urgency around the need for a more
binding CoC.
It also highlighted "freedom
of navigation" issues related to the disputes.
Back in 2010, during the ASEAN Regional Forum
(ARF) in Hanoi, the US showed favor towards
Vietnam and the Philippines, when it indirectly
chastised China's growing assertiveness in the
South China Sea and identified "freedom of
navigation" as a national interest, carving out a
place at the center of ongoing territorial
disputes in the South China Sea.
Ahead of
the forum, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
expressed Washington's support for the objectives
and format of the event by stating, "All 18 East
Asia Summit states have been invited for in-depth
discussions on how to improve safety on the
region's waterways, combat piracy, protect the
environment, and we are encouraged by the recent
informal dialogue between ASEAN and China as they
work toward a comprehensive code of conduct for
the South China Sea as a means to prevent future
tension in the region."
To underscore the
forum's importance in the eyes of the Filipino
leadership, Vice President Jejomar Binay was also
in attendance. In his keynote speech, he couched
his statements in the more benign language of
regional maritime cooperation by emphasizing the
need to rein in growing NTS challenges while
ensuring the steady flow of energy shipments
across vital regional sea lanes. He also
underscored the AMF's utility as a platform for
continuous maritime strategic cooperation.
"It is therefore of vital importance to
secure sea lanes communication and continue
combating piracy to ensure freedom and safety of
navigation in the seas of Southeast Asia," Binay
said. "Without duplicating the work of relevant
ASEAN bodies, the ASEAN Maritime Forum should be
institutionalized as the comprehensive and
cooperative platform for strategic engagement."
Owing to the sensitivity of the issues on
the agenda, potential areas of cooperation among
member countries were initially discussed behind
closed doors. The chairman's statement from the
3rd AMF, however, raised two significant points:
(1) participants' emphasis on respecting
international law, including the 1982 United
Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)
the 2002 ASEAN Declaration on the Conduct of
Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), as well as
the grouping's recent Six Point Principles on the
South China Sea; and (2) the participants'
recognition of the critical role of sharing
information and best practices.
On the
first day of the forum, the Philippines put
forward a regional information-sharing system
proposal to supposedly protect Southeast Asia's
waters against a whole range of "threats",
including drug trafficking, gun smuggling, human
trafficking, illegal fishing, and weather
disturbances. According to the proposal, the
system would "provide timely, relevant and
material information to appropriate action
agencies to enable them to combat non-traditional
security threats at sea."
To avoid
controversy and ensure engagement among
participants with conflicting positions, the
proposal's wording was intentionally vague. In
particular, it failed to specify the mechanics of
"information-sharing" and omitted any mention of
territorial disputes in the South China Sea. What
is clear is that although the prospects of a
regional CoC remains elusive, the Philippines has
managed through diplomacy to return the issue of
maritime security and the need for cooperation
back to the center of regional official
discussions.
Richard Javad
Heydarian is a foreign affairs analyst based
in Manila. He can be reached at
jrheydarian@gmail.com.
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