Japan’s Abe: Uphold rule of law

Amidst the rising territorial disputes in the East and South China Seas, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivered his keynote speech at the Opening Dinner of the Shangri-La Dialogue on Friday, May 30, with a strong message to uphold the rule of law.

Alluding to China’s increased military and paramilitary activities in contested waters, Abe stressed the need to strictly observe international law to promote peace and stability in Asia and the Indo-Pacific regions.

“My first central point today, is that we must observe international law. International law prescribes the order governing the seas. Its history is long indeed, stretching back to the day of ancient Greece,” Abe underscored.

“This law was not created by any particular country or countries, nor was it the product of some sort of group. Instead, it is the product of our wisdom, cultivated over a great many years for the well-being and the prosperity of all humankind,” the Japanese Prime Minister added.

Abe also discussed 3 principles of the rule of law at sea. 

“The first principle is that states shall make and clarify their claims based on international law.” 

Though not specifically mentioning China, Abe’s speech had implications for China’s lack of clarity in its nine-dash line claim in the South China Sea. The speech also had a subliminal message of support for the Philippines, which is currently challenging China’s nine-dash line claim before an arbitral tribunal.

“The second is that states shall not use force or coercion in trying to drive their claims.”

Again, Abe’s speech was conveying a strong message to China to refrain from activities that were threatening small neighbors like the Philippines and Vietnam, particularly in the context of the recent incidents in the Second Thomas Shoal of the Spratlys and in the Northwest Triton Island of the Paracels involving Chinese Coast Guard vessels.

“The third principle is that states shall seek to settle disputes by peaceful means.”

While this principle is also something that China wants to follow, there is no commonly accepted meaning of this principle. For China, the peaceful means of settling disputes is through direct bilateral negotiation. But for others like the Philippines, international arbitration is the most peaceful and civilized way of settling disputes. 

Prime Minister Abe’s entire speech zeroed in on a general theme to uphold the rule of law in inter-state relations. He emphasized, “Japan for the rule of law. Asia for the rule of law. And the rule of law for all of us.”

Thus, he gave special mention to the Philippines for advocating a rules-based approach in managing disputes in the South China Sea for championing the cause for a swift establishment of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea.

Abe also congratulated the Philippines for reaching a delimitation agreement with Indonesia to deal with their overlapping claims to Exclusive Economic Zones (EZZs). According him, the delimitation agreement is “an excellent case in point that truly embodies the rule of law.”

The idea of the “rule of law” sounded like a broken record in Abe’s keynote speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue. But the Japanese Prime Minister was intentionally repeating the idea as he was preaching a gospel that hopefully would convert China. This gospel raised the banner of what Abe called, “Proactive Contributor to Peace,” a “new Japanese” cooperative security framework that was grounded on the rule of law.

Though Abe mentioned Japan’s “rock solid” alliance with the United States and growing strategic partnerships with Australia and India, all the roads of his words led to China’s increased unilateral actions in contested waters even without directly saying it. 

Reading between the lines, Abe was telling China to refrain from unilateral actions that threatened littoral states in the South China Sea. Abe stressed, “We are in an era in which it is no longer possible for any one nation to secure its own peace only by itself.” 

While there was nothing new in Abe’s speech that was not said by him before, he reaffirmed Japan’s commitment to promote world peace and global security through increased international cooperation. 

Even as the world confronts a myriad of security challenges both old and new, traditional and non-traditional, Abe raised optimism in surmounting these challenges when he concluded, “We will do this together with our regional colleagues, our partners with whom we share our ambitions and our values.”

Does China share these ambitions and values? That begs the question. – Rappler.com