New Philippine president misinterprets South China Sea arbitration
In his first state of the nation address on Monday, newly- inaugurated Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte made the wrong political judgment over the South China Sea issue by eulogizing the recent illegal and invalid arbitral award against China.
In the address, Duterte hailed the recent South China Sea arbitral award given by the unlawfully established temporary tribunal “a key contribution” to peaceful resolution to maritime disputes between the Philippines and China.
The arbitration, a unilateral move launched by Duterte’s predecessor and steadily rejected by China, has become an illegally established barrier which Manila itself needs to overcome in order to start talks with Beijing to end their island spats. Bilateral talks are the only way forward in order for the dispute to be resolved, as has been China’s clear position from the start.
It also runs against China’s constant practice of using the mechanism of bilateral talks among the concerned parties in the region to handle such matters.
Second, the arbitral award, which unjustly downgraded the islands’ status to mere “rocks” around which economic exclusive zones cannot be claimed under the law, has seriously undermined China’s sovereign rights in the South China Sea. Thus it would be naive for anyone to fancy that China will somehow nod to the proposition of basing future talks with the Philippines on the illegal and invalid arbitral award.
Third, the one- sided award could embolden other regional nations to follow suit, which would further fuel the tensions in the region and allow outside meddlers the chance to further interfere. The award was nothing but a farce and can never be the basis of further deliberation.
Also in the speech, Duterte was mistaken about the connections between the arbitral award and the Permanent Court of Arbitration ( PCA). He said the outcome of the case was made before the PCA.
In fact, the arbitral award was made by a temporary tribunal, not the court. Meanwhile, according to international law, the tribunal also has no jurisdiction over sovereignity issues.
Of course, it is noted that the new Philippine head of state has expressed many times his intention to work with China to figure out their differences, and has nominated former Philippine President Fidel Ramos as a special envoy to China.
Thus, if the Philippines truly wants peace, then, it should come back to the right track. That starts with recognizing the harm the arbitration has already inflicted on bilateral ties and regional tranquility and apologizing to China for the damage inflicted on the relationship. Only when the Philippines takes a humble attitude can peace be guaranteed in the region.