Philippines ready to talk with Vietnam on continental shelf

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines is ready to talk with Vietnam to seek measures for a mutually beneficial solution after Hanoi filed a claim with the United Nations for an extended continental shelf (ECS) in the South China Sea, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday.

In a statement, the DFA said “the Philippines affirms its claim to its extended continental shelf in the Western Palawan Region consistent with its maritime entitlements under UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea).”

“We are ready to engage Vietnam on possible ways forward that would help achieve a mutually beneficial solution to South China Sea issues, in accordance with international law, particularly UNCLOS,” the DFA said.

Vietnam and the Philippines are among the claimants to parts of the South China Sea.

Vietnam’s move came after Malaysia earlier filed its own opposition to the UN on the Philippines’ petition for ECS.

Vietnam’s foreign ministry said the submission of the continental shelf beyond the current 200 nautical miles is to exercise the rights and obligations of state parties in accordance with the maritime framework.

“We acknowledge Vietnam’s right, as a coastal state like the Philippines, to submit information to establish the outer limits of their continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from the relevant and lawful baselines from which its territorial sea is measured, as provided for under UNCLOS,” the DFA said.

Vietnam also sent a note verbale to the UN Secretary-General to state its position regarding the Philippines’ similar submission filed last month on the West Philippine Sea.

The West Philippine Sea includes waters of the South China Sea that are part of the Philippines’ 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone.

Peaceful settlement

Countering China’s latest statements accusing the Philippines and Vietnam of taking steps that would only worsen tensions, the National Security Council (NSC) noted yesterday that moves to lay claim over the country’s ECS before the UN actually pave the way for a peaceful settlement of differences between nations.

NSC assistant director general Jonathan Malaya said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian’s statement on Thursday that submissions to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) will not help resolve disputes is wrong. 

“Both the Philippines and Vietnam agree that the way to move forward with respect to their respective submission of an ECS is for dialogue and consultation,” he said.

“As clearly stated by the DFA, the Philippines, in fact, is ready to engage in possible ways forward that would help achieve a mutually beneficial solution in accordance with international law, particularly UNCLOS,” he explained.

Malaya stressed that as members of ASEAN, both the Philippines and Vietnam recognize that “when submitting their ECS claims, coastal states must respect the legal and legitimate rights and interests of other relevant coastal nations with opposite or adjacent coasts, thus both seek a solution that is mutually beneficial for both countries.”

“Therefore, Lin Jian’s statement that these submissions do not have any practical effect and only serve to accentuate differences is premised on the wrong assumptions,” he said.

“There is a way forward to peacefully settle differences when nations adhere to international law and come to the negotiating table with open minds, sincerity, and goodwill,” Malaya told The STAR. — Michael Punongbayan