DFA asked to brief House panel on Asean stand on sea row

MANILA, Philippines - The House committee on foreign affairs is asking the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to brief them on the stand of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on the territorial dispute in the West Philippine Sea.

Committee chairman and Albay Rep. Al Francis Bichara filed House Resolution 729 asking the DFA to inform them of the position of the ASEAN member-countries on the maritime dispute between the Philippines and China.

“The public must be apprised how our Southeast Asian neighbors view a case filed by the Philippines against China under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), for international public opinion plays an important role in the peaceful resolution of the West Philippine Sea dispute,” the resolution said.

The measure was co-authored by Akbayan party-list Rep. Walden Bello.

The lawmakers underscored the importance of international public opinion in the peaceful resolution of the dispute.

They said the DFA should inform Congress, through the committee, as to what actions are being taken by ASEAN countries which also have pending territorial claims in the West Philippines Sea.

Among the ASEAN member-countries who are also claiming parts of the South China Sea are Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam.

The lawmakers said one of the primary aims of the regional group was to promote regional peace and stability.

They said for the past few years, the dispute between China and a number of ASEAN countries has escalated due to Beijing’s aggressive actions in the West Philippine Sea.

“The continuing Chinese incursions, including harassment of Philippine civilian vessels and fishermen on Kalayaan Group of Islands and the Panatag Shoal, has increased the tension among countries claiming sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea,” they said.

Bichara and Bello said that in recent years, China has been making actions that threaten not only the entitlements of the Philippines under international law but also those of other Southeast Asian countries.