Moving forward

President Duterte has asked former president Fidel Ramos to serve as special envoy to jump- start discussions with China after the UN- backed Permanent Arbitration Court invalidated Beijing’s ninedash- line claim over nearly the entire South China Sea. Ramos, who has a pacemaker, reportedly plans to consult his doctors first, and also wants to know the parameters of his mission in case he accepts.

Beijing responded yesterday by saying it was looking forward to discussions on a “temporary arrangement” pending a final settlement, with a “win-win” outcome for both countries. This statement from the Chinese foreign ministry can be read to mean that Beijing considers the arbitral court’s ruling temporary, which it is not for those who have ratified the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Or it can be seen as openness on the part of Beijing to eventually accept the result of an arbitration that is based on UNCLOS, which the two countries have ratified.

The readiness to start talking will disappoint those who are expecting World War III to erupt over the South China Sea. But the past centuries have seen the planet embroiled in armed conflicts of varying intensities, and war has always been ugly and extremely costly. Sometimes nations have gone to war to bring peace, but it’s still better to prevent conflicts from escalating into a shooting war by talking rather than saber rattling and belligerent provocation.

Even the international community prefers peaceful conflict resolution. The world has truly become a global village, with economies intertwined and states interdependent on everything from law enforcement and counterterrorism to trade and other aspects of nation-building.

During the three-year arbitration period, governments refused to take sides on the maritime dispute, but most were supportive of a peaceful mode of settlement based on rules approved by the international community. Nations would not want to take sides now, after China’s expansive sea claim was declared invalid and the Philippines had part of its 200-mile exclusive economic zone and maritime entitlements defined.

Under UNCLOS, the ruling of the arbitral court is final and binding, but the tribunal cannot enforce it. Compliance is left to the parties, and discussions between Manila and Beijing should be seen as an encouraging first step.