By Recto Mercene
CHINA assured the Philippines on Monday that it will not go to war over the contested isles and shoals on the West Philippine Sea (WPS), “because it is not in our interest to disrupt the peaceful and cooperative environment [in the area].”
“No, not at all. I cannot imagine that China would wage a war against the Philippines over what is happening in the South China Sea. It is not China’s policy and will not be China’s policy,” Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jianhua said.
“So don’t worry. We still like to have bilateral negotiations with the Philippines so that we can settle it [the WPS claims] in a peaceful manner.”
The Philippines and China, since 1995, had been locked in territorial disputes over the islets and shoals in the WPS.
A high-level delegation, led by Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert F. del Rosario, and buttressed by foreign experts, is scheduled to present oral arguments before the Permanent Court of Arbitration on Tuesday to find out whether the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos) has jurisdictions over the issue.
The mission will also ask the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (Itlos) to limit China’s claim on the area, as defined by its so-called nine-dash line, which practically had encroaches on the Philippine’s exclusive economic zone.
Jianhua explained that the ongoing dispute is not about the militarization of the WPS features, some of which China has expanded into small islands through reclamation.
“What I would like to emphasize is that we do not wish to define these disputes as military issues because they are political and diplomatic issues which require political and diplomatic solution. So we need to be very careful in defining these issues as military issues. China has never regarded the dispute as military dispute. It is a political, diplomatic dispute,” he added.
“Political and diplomatic issues require a political and diplomatic means [to solve] so they would be wrong to highlight the military aspect or define it as that.”
Asked to comment on the ongoing hearing at The Hauge, the Netherlands, Jinhua said: “I know we have made our position quite clear and our position is consistent. We will not accept nor participate in the arbitration. Because you know China is a party to the Unclos, and under Article 298, China has announced that we will not accept any compulsory arbitration when we become a part of the Unclos.”
“It is not only China which did that, 34 other countries did that, including the UK, South Korea, Thailand, so we’ll stick to that position,” he added.
Ask for the best solution to the dispute, he replied: “I think the best is to sit down bilaterally to talk. Our door for bilateral consultation and negotiation is still open and will be open forever.”
“We need to resume our bilateral negation without any condition. I think this is the best way that we can discuss how to peacefully settle these disputes,” Jianhua added.