PHL to Asean: Unite and be decisive on South China Sea disputes

The Philippines on Tuesday called on Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) leaders to take a united and decisive role in resolving the worsening South China Sea disputes. Asean “is now at a critical junction of playing a positive and meaningful role to contribute to the peaceful resolution of the disputes in the West Philippine Sea or the South China Sea," Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Del Rosario said in his speech at the Asean Foreign Ministers Meeting in Bali, Indonesia. “Asean must play a decisive role at this time if it desires to realize its aspirations for global leadership," said Del Rosario. The South China Sea disputes now dominate the agenda of Asean Leaders Summit and Related Meetings in Bali this week. Asean groups Four claimant countries to the South China Sea, including the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei are Asean members. Singapore, Laos Cambodia and Myanmar complete the regional bloc. Even without Asean support, the Philippines will pursue the framework of establishing a Zone of Peace, Freedom, Friendship, and Cooperation (ZoPFFC) “at every opportunity, as well as, to use appropriate avenues to exhaust all available means to settle the disputes within ASEAN," Del Rosario said. He noted that the proposal will clarify and segregate the disputed areas from the non-disputed waters of the West Philippine Sea or South China Sea. Seriously consider ZoPFFC Asean should seriously consider the Philippines proposal to by adopting ZoPFFC, the chief Philippine diplomat said. Since the Philippines opened the initiative towards the ZoPFFC during the Asean Regional Forum in Bali last July, members have not acted on the proposal, Del Rosario noted. Instead, Asean foreign ministers tasked maritime legal experts to study the Philippine paper, he noted. The ZoPFFC also counters China’s 9-dash line claim that argues on its historical ownership of the entire South China Sea. Time is ripe for Asean members to “resolve sensitive issues decisively without letting such issues affect the progress of bilateral and multilateral relations," Del Rosario said. The ZoPFFC proposal is consistent with the rules based framework of managing disputes, which form an integral part of the proposed implementing rules of the Declaration of Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, Del Rosario added. The adoption of the implementing rules of the DOC will move Asean to sign a binding Code of Conduct in the South China Sea that imposes sanctions on military intrusions, according to the Philippine Foreign Affairs Department. — VS, GMA News