TRUMP OFFERS TO MEDIATE IN FEUD
Philippines grateful for offer to mediate in maritime feud with China but says claimant countries must first give their take on proposal
Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano yesterday said the Philippines appreciates the offer of United States President Donald Trump to fill in a mediator role in the existing dispute between China and littoral countries in the South China Sea.
“We thank him for it. It’s a very kind, generous offer because he is a good mediator,” Cayetano said in an ambush interview at the Marriott Hotel. “He is the master of the art of the deal.”
While Manila appreciates Trump’s “honest” offer, Cayetano said claimant countries in the contested waters must first give their take on the proposal.
“Of course, the claimant countries have to answer as a group or individually, and not one country can just give an instant reply because mediation involves all of the claimants and non-claimants,” he pointed out.
He reaffirmed that the parties involved are “making giant steps forward” in talking about the code of conduct, a stronger document compared to the non-binding 2002 Declaration of Conduct in the South China Sea. President
Trump yesterday offered to mediate in the South China Sea disputes, while his Chinese counterpart played down concerns over Beijing’s military buildup and the prospects of war in the contested waters.
Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke separately about the territorial rifts ahead of an annual summit of Southeast Asian nations that also includes the U.S., China and other global players.
The disputes are expected to get the spotlight at the summit, along with the North Korean nuclear threat and terrorism.
The long-simmering disputes are one issue where the two major powers’ influence, focus and military might have been gauged, with the U.S. and China both calling for a peaceful resolution but taking contrasting positions in most other aspects of the conflict.
Unlike China, the U.S. is not a claimant to the potentially oilrich and busy waters, but it has declared that it has a national interest in ensuring freedom of navigation and overflight and the peaceful resolution of the disputes.
Several nations back an active American military presence in the region to serve as a counterweight to China’s increasingly assertive actions, including the construction of seven manmade islands equipped with military installations.
“I’m a very good mediator and arbitrator,” Trump said at a news conference with Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang in Vietnam’s capital, Hanoi, before flying to Manila for the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Trump’s offer faces major obstacles. For one, China has steadfastly opposed what it calls U.S. meddling in the disputes and has balked at the U.S. Navy’s incursions into what Beijing considers its territorial waters in the South China Sea.
The Philippines, the head of ASEAN’s rotational chairmanship, said member states of the 10-nation ASEAN bloc have to consult each other but thanked Trump for the offer.
“He is the master of the art of the deal but, of course, the claimant countries have to answer as a group or individually ... mediation involves all the claimants and nonclaimants,” Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano told reporters.