Encouraging talks

PRESIDENT Aquino said Wednesday he hopes his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping is the beginning of a reconciliation process between the neighboring nations. The two met during a tree planting ceremony on the sidelines of the 2nd Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ meeting in Beijing this week.

During the ten minutes that they were together at the tree-planting rites, the Chinese leader expressed his hope that China and the Philippines would return to their previous bilateral consensus and handle relevant disputes in a constructive way, according to President Aquino. It was the first time the two leaders had an opportunity to talk with each other and the President noted, “The warmth was there… there was sincerity.”

This is the first encouraging report we have seen in the last few months with regard to Philippine- Chinese relations, particularly in relation to their dispute over the Spratly (Kalayaan) islands in the South China ( West Philippine) Sea and much closer to home – Baja de Masinloc near Zambales. China has claimed most of the South China Sea, with a nine-dash line looping around the vast area, including reefs and isles close to Philippine territory. This same Chinese claim has brought it into contention with several other nations, notably Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei.

The Philippines has filed a case with the United Nations Arbitral Tribunal basing its claim on the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) but China has refused to participate in the proceedings. This will not, however, stop the Tribunal from issuing a decision under the provisions of the convention.

The problem now facing President Aquino is how to reconcile the legal action taken by the Philippines with the seeming reconciliatory attitude shown by President Xi Jinping. The Philippines had filed the arbitration proceedings “to define what is legitimately ours, specifically maritime entitlements under the UNCLOS, with regards to our fishing rights, to resources, and our right to enforce our laws within our Exclusive Economic Zone,” in the words of Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario.

We cannot now withdraw this action. It must proceed to its inevitable end – a decision by the tribunal, with or without the participation of the Chinese government. We may not be able to enforce our rights should the Tribunal rule in our favor, but the decision will be welcomed by countries involved in the dispute for clearing up a hazy situation.

China has shown no signs of giving up its claim under the nine-dash line, including the islands in the Spratlys which are the subject of our UNCLOS case. Still it is good to know that during a ten-minute talk between President Aquino and President Xi, they were able to exchange warm and encouraging words that could lead to further talks that could eventually lead to a new era of close relations between our two countries.