Lawmakers urge govt to rely on ASEAN in Spratlys row

Lawmakers on Monday advised the Philippine government to rely on its ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in dealing with its conflict with China over the disputed Spratly Islands. Akbayan party-list Rep. Walden Bello said the Philippines should run to the ASEAN to address its conflict with China after an official of the United States (US) Embassy said the Western country will not take sides in the regional dispute. “Calling on the US to help us would just enable [the US] to extract more concessions from us. Our strategy should be to rely on the ASEAN, not on Washington," he said in a statement Monday. Deputy Speaker Zamboanga City Maria Isabelle Climaco meanwhile said the ASEAN is the best forum for the Philippines to air its protests against China on the Spratlys issue, since other member-states like Vietnam and Malaysia also have the same problem. “The ASEAN countries should talk to China as a body and not thru individual countries," she said. University of the Philippines (UP) Center for Policy and Executive Development Director Prospero de Vera, for his part, said talks between the ASEAN and China can prevent violence from erupting in the region. “Kailangan palakasin ‘yung usapan para hindi matuloy sa giyera… Mahalaga na gamitin ng Pilipinas ang relasyon unang-una sa ASEAN para gawing ASEAN-China discussions ito. Hindi dapat bilateral na Philippines at China lang ang nag-uusap," he said in an interview over GMA News’ Unang Hirit. The territorial dispute over Spratly Islands was revived after a China Marine Surveillance vessel and other People’s Liberation Army Navy ships were reportedly sighted at the vicinity of Iroquois Reef-Amy Douglas Bank in the West Philippine Sea. The Philippine government is currently preparing the country’s official accounts of the reported Chinese incursions to be sent to China and the United Nations. Amid the escalating dispute over Spratlys, US Embassy spokesperson Rebecca Thompson said in a newspaper report that Washington will not take sides in regional disputes, despite a mutual defense treaty between the Philippines and the US, which dates back to 1951. Defense Undersecretary Ed Batac, for his part, maintained that the Philippines will exhaust all diplomatic means to solve the conflict with China. “We’re being very cautious about this. We have never adopted any confrontational options. Wala naman tayong kakayahan kaya we continue to try to dialogue," he said. - VVP, GMA News