Former top diplomats pounce on Yasay

Former ranking diplomatic officials lashed out at Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay for what they said was the Philippines’ failure to push for the inclusion of the landmark ruling on the South China Sea in a joint statement issued by ASEAN foreign ministers who met recently in Laos.

Former Foreign Affairs secretary Albert Del Rosario said Yasay “should have stood strongly for promoting the arbitration ruling as being part of the final statement," referring to the decision of an arbitral panel in The Hague favoring the Philippines’ case denying China’s claim on practically the entire South China Sea.

"My experience before was, a bilateral meeting with China is not very productive," del Rosario said. "China will stick by the position that they have indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea."

He said Yasay did not use the ruling as a leverage when the ASEAN ministers crafted the statement.

"I think the ruling should be a focal point of any discussion," said Del Rosario, whose proAmerican stance is believed to be behind his hardline position on the South China Sea dispute.

Outgoing Ambassador to Washington Jose Cuisia Jr. agreed with Del Rosario.

"Why did we go through all that trouble," Cuisia told reporters. "What is the use of the ruling then?"

Cuisia said Yasay should have persuaded ASEAN countries to come up with a more forceful statement. “What are we asking? To respect international law, to respect a ruling that is recognized by many other major nations –US, EU, Japan, Australia," he said.

"What's wrong with saying we welcome this decision and we hope we can work together with ASEAN in trying to get China to come up with a reasonable stance in the South China Sea," he added.

"China has been bullying us for the past several years, they have been harassing our fishermen, intimidating patrol of both air force and navy, they have illegally built islands on three reefs that are part of our EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone)," said Cuisia.

While agreeing with Yasay that the Philippines "should not flaunt" its elation over the tribunal’s decision, Cuisia believes that "we should be magnanimous but at the same time we should be firm."

Another ranking diplomat, former foreign affairs undersecretary for policy Lauro Baja, said that instead of head held high, the Philippines' failure to push for the inclusion of the landmark ruling on the South China Sea in the ASEAN statement could mean that “we missed the opportunity to strengthen our position."

"It is also unfortunate that we are divided and debating among ourselves," said Baja, who helped negotiate the ASEAN-China Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) in 2002. "This is not lost on the Chinese who are adopting a clever posture post panel."

The Philippine government needs a "more agile, more strategic, clearer and more coherent implementation of what the panel awarded us," he said.

Striking back at his critics, Yasay said that because of its hard line approach, the Aquino administration failed to get the ASEAN to issue a unified statement that calls on China to uphold international law.

Yasay said the former DFA officials apparently did not realize "there are many ways to skin the cat."

In a message over the weekend, Yasay remained resolute in his belief that the critically diminished ASEAN statement and joint communique was in fact a "resounding diplomatic triumph" and not a "lost opportunity" as what foreign affairs experts claim it to be.

He said the statement "enabled ASEAN to join our traditional partners, ally and the international community in urging China to uphold international law and respect the processes and mechanisms under the UNCLOS in resolving the dispute in the South China Sea which implicitly called for respect of the ruling of the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration.”

The statement “did not in any way weaken the legal foundations of our claim and the award given to us by the arbitral tribunal," he said.

He said the communiqué conveys “the same core message they wanted to obtain" which is to urge China to respect the 1982 UNCLOS.

"My predecessors failed to get this vital united statement from ASEAN," said Yasay.

It was during President Aquino’s term that the ASEAN first failed to issue a joint statement in its 45-year history. In 2012, the regional bloc failed to reach common ground on the South China Sea issue during a regional conference in Cambodia.

In November the same year, ASEAN Defense ministers were also unable to agree on a final declaration in Kuala Lumpur. Earlier in August foreign ministers likewise struggled to reach consensus on the matter, releasing a statement hours after the end of a three-day meeting.

Most recently, ASEAN withdrew a joint statement it issued at the end of the two-day Special ASEAN-China Foreign Ministers’ Meeting held last June in Kunming, Yunnan Province.

In the withdrawn statement, ASEAN foreign ministers said the developments in the South China Sea have eroded trust and confidence, increased tensions and which may have the potential to undermine peace, security and stability in the region.