The Philippines interacts with other states on the basis of the sovereign equality of states
The following is the text of the welcome remarks of the author at the Philippine Council for Foreign Relations forum on April 17, 2024.
OUR guest of honor, Ambassador Huang Xilian, knows our country well. In his first tour of duty as a Chinese diplomat to our country, his accomplishments included acting as a translator for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
Nevertheless, I wish to state the following facts about the Philippines:
First, the Philippines is a democratic state which values freedom and promotes peace.
During the Cold War, the Philippines responded to the call of the United Nations to assist South Korea when North Korea invaded South Korea, sending troops across the 38th Parallel Line. South Korea is a democratic country whose people were in danger of losing their freedom.
Another historical fact, now almost forgotten, is that soon after the 1987 Philippine Constitution entered into force, the Philippines took the initiative of organizing a conference to establish the Organization of Newly Restored Democracies. This initiative was envisioned following the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics). The United States, however, chose to ignore and not to give this vision any publicity. The Philippines had invited to this conference Cuba, Nicaragua and the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Second, the Philippines, from the first years of its independence, has sought to establish close relations with its neighbors.
Prior to the Banding Conference,
President Elpidio Quirino invited the heads of state/government of several countries, namely Australia, Pakistan, India, Ceylon, Thailand and Indonesia, to a conference in Baguio in 1950, putting forward the idea of a non-military Pacific Union among Southeast Asian and Pacific nations.
Subsequently, the Philippines took part in establishing Maphilindo, which was the precursor of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). As a founding member of Asean, the Philippines has been projecting Asean Centrality as the cornerstone for peace and stability in our region. Asean has sought to have a balance of power in our new multipolar world that has evolved.
The Philippines is likewise a founding member of APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation), which now has 21 member economies in the Pacific Rim from its original 12 members in 1989. APEC includes Taiwan’s economy. Decades ago, President Fidel V. Ramos proposed to establish a Northern Triangle of economic cooperation among the economies of Taiwan, China and the Philippines.
Third, the Philippines acts in its own national interest and is not a proxy of any state.
The Philippines recently celebrated the Fall of Bataan as a national holiday, a testament to the patriotism of Filipinos in defense of their country against Japan’s past aggression.
The Philippines’ paramount consideration in its relations with other States is to defend its national sovereignty, territorial integrity, national interest and the right to self-determination. Thus, the Philippines filed the arbitration case against China as a peaceful way to protect its sovereign rights over its food and its energy resources in its exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.
The arbitral tribunal constituted under the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos) has ruled with finality that the Second Thomas Shoal (Ayungin Shoal) and the Reed Bank are within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone and continental shelf. Both China and the Philippines are signatories and parties to this Convention. Almost all the countries of the world have adopted this Convention to be the legal order for the world’s oceans and seas.
In filing the arbitration case, the Philippines was protecting foremost the food security of future generations of Filipinos. This is the Philippines’ paramount national interest. The Philippines is not the proxy of any state and has been accepted as a member of the Non-Aligned Movement.
The Philippines did not allow the United States or the former colonial powers to dictate its foreign policy. As a founding member of the United Nations, the Philippines was active in supporting the aspirations for independence of former colonies. Likewise, the Philippines nurtured its ties with developing countries as a member of the Group of 77. The Philippines was the chair of the Group of 77 during the year-long celebration of the 50th anniversary of the United Nations.
During the Vietnam War, the Philippines did not permit the United States to launch air attacks from its military bases in the Philippines. By that time, there was recognition that the military bases were not covered by the principle of ex-territoriality.
The Philippines also declined to send combat troops to South Vietnam. Instead, the Philippines sent Philcag (Philippines Civil Action Group) to South Vietnam and Laos to provide medical and rural community service teams to their rural populations.
The Philippines is mandated by its Constitution to adhere to a foreign policy of cooperation and amity with all nations and promote good relations on the basis of the sovereign equality of States.
Conclusion
Today, we have an opportunity to understand well the actions and aspirations of our two countries.
I look forward to our guest of honor’s message on this auspicious Chinese New Year of the Wood Dragon, reputed to be a benevolent dragon.
The Philippine Council For Foreign Relations has been engaging in friendly dialogue with China’s People’s Institute for Foreign Affairs and continues to seek ways to promote cooperation between different sectors of our societies.
Ambassador Jaime S. Bautista is chairman of the Philippine Council for Foreign Relations (PCFR) and president of the Philippine Ambassadors’ Foundation Inc.