MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino said yesterday he sought consensus from the country’s leaders before going to the United Nations for arbitration on the West Philippine Sea dispute with China.
“I consulted the leadership of both chambers (Senate and House of Representatives)... to include the minority leadership of both. We invited the judiciary, who were unfortunately having an en banc session on the day we had to call for this meeting,†Aquino told reporters covering the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland Friday night (Saturday morning in Manila).
Aquino said former Presidents Fidel Ramos and Joseph Estrada were also invited to share their experiences on the issue.
“So we brought the matter before them, and there was unanimity. And I won’t exaggerate, nobody really objected to going into this arbitration mode,†Aquino said.
“I think the choice is very, very clear. One is let the status quo remain and have, in effect, their claiming effective control over Bajo de Masinloc by ordering our vessels out. And if we don’t do this approach, then what is the next step? Is it Reed Bank or Recto Bank? What else? We’ve been very patient. We believe we’ve been complying with the request in the interest of maintaining good relations, but unfortunately, there has been no reciprocation,†the President said.
By the workings of the Constitution, and by the oath that he took, the President said he swore to defend the country.
“And we are doing this under international law, in a peaceful manner. We are not threatening anybody, but if we don’t stand up for our rights, who we do expect will be standing up for our rights?†he asked.
The President said the decision to go to the UN would not complicate the issue because it was well within the Philippines’ commitment to have a peaceful resolution to the dispute.
Businessman Manny Pangilinan said the Philippines’ elevation of its territorial dispute with China could complicate his company’s already delayed bid to explore for oil and gas at the Recto Bank in the West Philippine Sea.
Pangilinan, head of Philex Petroleum Corp., majority owner of London-based Forum Energy PLC, the contractor for oil and gas exploration off Palawan, said the issue was no longer just commercial or a question of sovereignty but has become a global one.
The Philippines had formally notified Beijing it was seeking arbitration before a tribunal operating under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). It wants China’s claims to virtually the entire South China Sea declared unlawful.
John Negroponte, a former United States national intelligence director and deputy secretary of state, welcomed the Philippines’ action.
“The main message I take from the Philippine government action is that it seeks to resolve this issue by peaceful means and that is very consistent with the line that the United States government has been advocating all these years,†Negroponte said.
He was visiting Manila as Pangilinan’s co-chairman in the US-Philippines Society seeking to raise the Philippines’ profile in the US and encourage investment.
Aquino said the offer of the China National Offshore Oil Corp. to partner with Pangilinan’s group and explore Recto Bank was still in a nascent stage and that there had been incidents when Philippine vessels were being blatantly driven away from Panatag Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc when it was clearly within Philippine territory.
“And, as you know, we have said that Bajo de Masinloc under UNCLOS is part of our EEZ (exclusive economic zone), which says 200 miles, and it’s 120 miles,†Aquino said.
The President said based on affidavits, Chinese vessels blared their horns at full blast at local fishing vessels, which intimidated them.
“That was incident number one. There’s incident number two, and the allegation of the affiant says that when they were sheltering inside Bajo de Masinloc, they were being observed. Eventually, they were approached, and something like, again, two vessels were ordered out of the shoal where they were sheltering from rough waters. According to the affidavit, they were told to go back to the rough waters. So I think the record is very clear,†Aquino said.
“From the incident in Bajo de Masinloc, we have tried to de-escalate the situation. We have tried to adhere to all of their requests... (and) help them with the transition period. The transition, as far as we know, has already occurred. And instead of a de-escalation, there seems to be an escalation on their end,†he said.