Palace: No military solution to West Phl Sea dispute

MANILA, Philippines - A military solution is not an option in the West Philippine Sea dispute, Malacañang said yesterday.

Speaking to reporters, Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said the government’s position remains  unchanged: a rules-based approach would still be the best way to settle the maritime entitlements of claimant-countries.

The Philippines has filed a case before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea to press its claims over the West Philippine Sea based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, he added.

Coloma said the Philippines will continue to push for the code of conduct in the West Philippine Sea and other international forums.

“All ASEAN countries have come up with one position that the code of conduct must already be adopted to make it the basis for every country’s behavior (in the West Philippine Sea),” he said.

James Fanell, retired US Navy Pacific Fleet intelligence chief, said the “strategic trend lines indicate the Communist Party of China is not only ‘rejuvenating’ itself for internal stability purposes, but has been and continues to prepare to use military force.”

Based on reports, China prefers not to use its growing military force for achieving regional dominance, he added.

However, “let’s not deceive ourselves” as “the evidence I’ve been chewing on over the past 15 years is overwhelming,” he added.

“Beijing has prepared for military action and (Chinese) President Xi Jinping’s ‘China Dream’ has a defined timeline to reach this ‘rejuvenated’ end state,” Fanell said in a report by The Washington Free Beacon dated Feb. 2.

Fanell said the Obama administration’s policy of shifting forces to the Pacific – called “rebalance” – was a good first step to counter the challenge of China.

“But it must be backed up with a real, tangible deterrent force and we must stand up to Beijing’s propaganda and bullying campaign, especially those that come at the expense of our allies and partners,” he said based on the same Washington Free Beacon report.

The rebalance includes the shift of some troops, naval and air forces to the region, but it has been limited as a result of sharp defense cuts under the Obama administration and continuing US military commitments in the Middle East.

Fanell called on his fellow intelligence officials to present honest assessments of the danger of China’s growing military power.

“The challenge, as I have seen it, is for intelligence professionals to make the case, to tell the truth, and to convince national decision- and policy-makers to realize that China’s rise, if left unchecked or undeterred, will necessarily disrupt the peace and stability of our friends, partners and allies,” he said.