DFA chief lauds US Congress' call for 'peaceful resolution' of Spratlys row

Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario welcomed over the weekend the filing of the United States House Resolution calling for “a peaceful and collaborative resolution of maritime territorial disputes in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) and its environs and other maritime areas adjacent to the East Asian mainland." File on July 15, HR352 supports the Philippine position of peaceful, multilateral and rules-based settlement of the West Philippine Sea disputes in accordance with international law.

The resolution has certain notable provisions. One states that “on June 23, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told visiting Philippine Foreign Affair Secretary Albert del Rosario that [the US] is determined and committed to supporting the defense of the Philippines." (See story: Hillary Clinton pledges US support for PHL in Spratlys) Another provision mentions Del Rosario’s statement that although the Philippines is a small country, it is “prepared to do what is necessary to stand up to any aggressive action in our backyard." (See: Palace: US 'commitment' to PHL shouldn't upset China) There is also a provision saying that the United States stated on June 23 that it stands ready to provide hardware to modernize the Philippines military. Aside from the US House of Representatives and the US State Department, the US Senate also had approved a resolution introduced by Virginia Senator Jim Webb deploring the use of force by China in the South China Sea and calling for a peaceful, multilateral resolution to maritime territorial disputes in Southeast Asia. US HR352 was introduced by Florida Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Chair of the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs, together with co-sponsors Illinois Rep. Don Manzullo, Chairman of the House Sub-Committee on Asia and the Pacific, and American-Samoa Rep. Eni Faleomavaega of the House Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific. The resolution also has 27 other co-sponsors, notably, 18 Republicans and 9 Democrats. — MRT/LBG, GMA News