Philippine strategy towards China deserves support

On 6 May 2014, Philippine police arrested 11 Chinese turtle poachers onboard the Qiongqionghai near Half Moon Shoal. The Chinese fishing boat carried 500 turtles and a local vessel 40 turtles. The Chinese and Filipino fishermen face charges of violating Philippine laws prohibiting catches of endangered sea turtles. China demanded the immediate release of the Chinese boat and its crew and, rather incredibly, for the Philippines “…to stop their provocations.”

More seriously, on May 16, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs issued pictures of China’s reclamation of land on Mabini Reef (Johnson South Reef) in the West Philippine Sea, with an airstrip “likely for military use.” Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario filed a diplomatic protest against China’s reclamation works on the reef last month, but Beijing typically rejected it on grounds the reef is part of Chinese territory.

For China, their claim has led to unwanted results, in particular the rapprochement between the Philippines and the USA. President Obama’s visit to Manila in April led to an “ironclad assurance” that the USA would support the Philippines if attacked, and to an agreement that drastically increases military cooperation between the Philippines and the USA and that includes a greater presence of American military in the country.

Irony for Liberal Party

It’s an ironic development under a liberal President, since it was the Liberal party leader Jovito Salonga who masterminded closing the American military bases Clark and Subic Bay in 1992.

However, in view of its military weakness, which reflects a lack of military investments (and misappropriation of funds) over decades, the Aquino administration frankly had no other option, and chose the wisest course of action. To top it off more than 5,000 US and Filipino Marines launched mock assaults on a West Philippine Sea beach as part of joint annual military exercises Balikatan (shoulder-to-shoulder). 

Similarly, military relations between the US and Japan intensified, following the Chinese-Japanese quarrel over islands in the North China Sea. Meanwhile in Vietnam the public outcry over Chinese claims on the same sea and even the building of an oil rig, have led to violent clashes and the death of Chinese nationals. This can hardly be what the Chinese government dreamt of accomplishing.

The Philippine-Indonesian deal over sea demarcations, signed this week, is a good example of a civilized way to settle such issues. Seeking international arbitration – as the Philippines have done over its conflict with China – is even braver, because the outcome of such arbitration is never entirely certain.

What may yet come back to haunt the Aquino administration is the lack of a thought-through China strategy. Its policy towards China appears to be haphazard, as it veered from subservient, such as when the Philippines was prominent in its absence from the Nobel Peace Prize awarding to Liu Xiaobo in 2010, to self-confident, when it took the Spratly-case to a United Nations tribunal.

This makes it harder for the Philippines to lecture other governments on taking a strong stance vis-à-vis China. Nonetheless, despite the Chinese protestations, the Philippines strategy to seek international mediation based on international law, deserves full support. – Rappler.com 

Jules Maaten is the Philippines country director of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom.