Countries locked in territorial disputes urged not to use threats

BAKU, Azerbaijan – Political parties from the Asia-Pacific region renewed calls on states locked in territorial disputes in the region, particularly in the West Philippine Sea, to avoid using threats or force in asserting their claims.

At the closing of the 7th general assembly of the International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP) here on Friday, the bloc adopted the Baku Declaration that focused on peace, security and reconciliation in Asia.

“We also support resolving territorial disputes in parts of Asia based on the accepted principles of international law and the United Nations Charter, rather than resorting to the threat or the use of force,” the declaration stated.

“Political differences on such territorial disputes must not become impediments to normal economic and cultural interaction, based on mutual benefit,” it said.

Pakistan Sen. Mushahid Hussain Sayed, who is also secretary-general of the Pakistan Muslim League, read the four-page document.

The declaration was made after the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Phnom Penh last week failed to come up with a united stand on the increasingly tense dispute over the West Philippine Sea.

The Baku statement on territorial disputes in Asia was markedly different from the draft circulated among ICAPP delegates that specifically called for the pullout of troops on islands in the West Philippine Sea as well as joint exploration and development of the resource-rich region by claimant-nations of the Philippines, Brunei, China, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam.

Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, one of the delegates who wrote the revisions in the declaration, said he and the Vietnamese delegation were uncomfortable with the matter of joint mineral exploration and development in the Spratlys as it would allow claimant-states to intrude and exploit resources within the 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of another country.

“President Aquino already said our sovereignty is non-negotiable. Allowing supposed joint exploration and development would mean intrusion and exploitation of our resources in our 200-mile EEZ that is guaranteed by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS),” Rodriguez told reporters.

“While there’s no mention of China or the Spratlys, I think everyone here knows this is about China because of the warning against the use of threats and force,” he said.