Solons visit to Spratlys won't impact Phil-China relations

The decision of Filipino lawmakers to visit the disputed Spratly Islands will have no effect on the bilateral relations between the Philippines and China, Malacañang said Monday. “It’s an independent move by the lawmakers to visit the Spratlys. There must be a purpose for them to conduct the visit. I don’t think it will have any effect," presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said in a text message to reporters. On Wednesday, Akbayan party-list Reps. Walden Bello and Arlene Bag-ao, DIWA party-list Rep. Emmeline Aglipay, Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone and Ifugao Rep. Teodoro Baguilat Jr. of the “Peace and Sovereignty Mission," will fly to Kalayaan Island — a part of the island group being claimed by the Philippines. “The mission aims to support the Philippine government’s rightful claims to the country’s 200-mile economic zone and the islands in the Spratly archipelago that lie in the zone," Bello said in a statement, referring to guidelines laid down by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. In another development, Malacañang welcomed the resolution passed by the United States House of Representatives supporting the Philippine stand for a peaceful, multilateral and rules-based approach with respect to the West Philippine Sea dispute. At a press briefing Monday, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte echoed Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Del Rosario's statement. “As Secretary Albert Del Rosario has said, we welcome the resolution by the US lawmakers supporting our position calling for a peaceful resolution to this dispute and the rules-based approach on the resolution," she said. "Something we cannot judge" “Whether the persuasive value of this resolution [or] whatever persuasive value it may or may not have on China to alter their position is something that we cannot judge," Valte said. However, she pointed out that China and other claimants already agreed to settle the dispute peacefully and diplomatically. “Katulad nga po ng sinabi ni Pangulong Aquino, it seems to be our only recourse and we will continue to speak to them on how we can arrive at a peaceful resolution of the dispute," she said. In a statement, Secretary Del Rosario said the Philippines welcomed US House Resolution 352 calling for “a peaceful and collaborative resolution of maritime territorial disputes in the South China Sea and its environs and other maritime areas adjacent to the East Asian mainland" by select members of the US Congress. He said the US House resolution clearly supports the Philippine position of peaceful, multilateral and rules-based settlement of the dispute in accordance with international law and condemns the use of force and overt threats. In a report to the DFA (in Manila) by the Philippine Embassy in Washington, the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs chaired by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen introduced the resolution on Friday. Its co-sponsors — Rep. Don Manzullo, chairman of the House subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, and Rep. Eni Faleomavaega, a ranking member of the same subcommittee — gave their unequivocal support to the Philippine position. The US House resolution had 27 co-sponsors, including 18 Republicans and nine Democrats. — VS, GMA News