‘Nothing wrong in submitting disputes to int'l legal process’
The Philippines’ turning to the international arbitral tribunal for help in settling its maritime spat with China is consistent with international law and with the so-called Asian way of dealing with regional disputes, a Foreign Affairs official told a gathering of security and defense experts in India on Thursday.
“It has been claimed also – almost as gospel truth – that Asians are against submitting their disputes to international legal process. Singapore’s Ambassador-at-large Tommy Koh pointed out that this is incorrect, citing that Southeast Asian countries have a positive track record of referring their disputes to the international legal process,” Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Policy Evan Garcia said in a speech before the Institute for Defense and Security Analyses (IDSA) in New Delhi.
The gathering was part of the ASEAN-India Eminent Persons’ Lecture Series in the Indian capital.
Among the cases brought by Asian states to international courts are the Preah Vihear case between Cambodia and Thailand, the Sipadan and Ligatan case between Indonesia and Malaysia, the Pedra Branca/Pulau Batu Puteh case between Malaysia and Singapore, and the Myanmar-Bangladesh maritime boundary delimitation case.
Garcia cited India’s leading role in advancing the rule of law through its respect for the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS)’s decision on its maritime delimitation case with Bangladesh.
Garcia stressed that under the 1982 Manila Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, judicial settlement of legal disputes should not be considered an unfriendly act between states.
It was the first time for the Philippines to participate in the lecture chaired by Ambassador Sanjay Singh, former secretary of India’s ministry of external affairs.
In his speech, Garcia also explained that arbitration is provided for under UNCLOS and that such approach allows small countries “to stand on an equal footing with wealthier and more powerful States, confident in the conviction that right prevails over might.”
Japan dev’t welcomed
Meanwhile, the Department of National Defense said the passage of controversial measures in Japan allowing the deployment of its troops abroad – including for combat – will help promote stability in the region.
DND spokesman Peter Galvez said the decision of the lower house of the Japanese parliament could lead to more military exchanges while maintaining the balance of power in the region.
“The passing of Japan’s security bill expanding the military’s role is a welcome development. We see Japan as a strategic partner that will further promote multi-dimensional stability and security in the region,” Galvez said.
“We could probably look into more robust exercises in the future,” he added.
The package of laws approved last week by Japan’s parliament will allow the Japanese military to join overseas conflicts for the first time since World War II.
Once enacted, the measures will revise laws that prohibit the Japanese military from employing force to address conflicts, except in cases of self-defense.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been pushing for the bills, which seek to allow the deployment of troops overseas if Japan or its close ally is under attack.
Some groups protested the approval of the measures, which they called “war bills.”
China and South Korea, countries conquered by Japan during World War II, have raised alarm over the measures and urged Japan to contribute to regional stability.
When reminded of Japan’s atrocities during World War II, Galvez said: “We believe that Japan has learned from the past.” He said Japan may also “contribute to the balance of power in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).”
Both the Philippines and Japan have territorial disputes with China, whose aggressive expansion and military buildup are alarming its neighbors.
China claims about 90 percent of the West Philippine Sea while the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have overlapping claims in the South China Sea.
To cement what it claimed as its historical rights over the disputed areas, China embarked on massive reclamation in seven reefs that are also being claimed by the Philippines.
The Chinese projects are at the Panganiban (Mischief), Zamora (Subi), Kagitingan (Fiery Cross), Kennan (Chigua), Mabini (Johnson South), Burgos (Gaven) and Calderon (Cuarteron) Reefs.
Members of the international community have asked China to stop the reclamation but the appeals fell on deaf ears as the Chinese government insisted that it has sovereignty over the areas covered by the projects.
Japan and China, meanwhile, are fighting over the Senkaku Islands, an uninhabited area in the East China Sea that Beijing calls Diaoyu Island.
Last month, President Aquino and Abe agreed to start talks on a visiting forces deal, a move seen as an effort to counter China’s aggressiveness.
The two countries have also agreed to begin discussions on transferring Japanese military hardware and technology to the Philippines, one of the weakest in the region in terms of defense capability. The hardware to be transferred may include antisubmarine reconnaissance aircraft and radar technology.
Defense officials, however, admitted that a visiting forces agreement between the Philippines and Japan may not be completed within Aquino’s term because it has to undergo a long process.