Sea statement ‘to go easy on Beijing’
Chair to avoid rows and attract business
MANILA: Southeast Asian nations would adopt a softer than usual tone about South China Sea disputes at a leaders’ summit on Saturday in Manila, and exclude references to militarisation or islandbuilding, according to a draft of the chairman’s statement.
Although some Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) l eaders will express “serious concern” over the “escalation of activities” in the disputed sea, Asean will drop references, or even allusions, to China’s construction of artificial islands and the military hardware it has placed on them, according excerpts of the draft.
The statement would be a watereddown version of that issued last year and comes amid a charm offensive by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who takes the rotating Asean chair this year, to court China for its business and avoid rows over sovereignty in the South China Sea.
However, a diplomat from the Asean secretariat said that officials were still working on the draft of the statement and “it may still change” before it is issued at the end of the summit on Saturday.
China claims almost entire South China Sea where about US$5 trillion worth of seaborne goods pass every year.
Four Asean members — Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam — along with China and Taiwan, have claims in the sea, which security analysts say is a potential flashpoint for conflict.
The UN-backed tribunal ruled last July that China’s claims to nearly all of the sea had no legal basis and its construction activities there were illegal.
The case was filed by Mr Duterte’s predecessor Benigno Aquino, who forcefully challenged Beijing through legal and diplomatic avenues including Asean events. This led to a sharp deterioration in bilateral relations.
Mr Duterte, who assumed the presidency shortly before the ruling was issued, has chosen to pursue friendly ties with China to try to win billions of dollars’ worth of trade and aid.
As part of that, he has said he will not use the ruling to pressure China.
Asean references to the South China Sea issue typically do not name China, which has been expanding its seven man-made islands in the Spratlys, including with hangars, runways, radars and surface-toair missiles.
Last year’s Asean statement in Laos emphasised the importance of “non-militarisation and self-restraint in the conduct of all activities, including land reclamation”.
According to the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, China will soon be capable of deploying fighter jets on three of its reefs. China insists its activities are for defence purposes and are taking place in what it considers its sovereign waters.
The Philippines irked China two months ago when its then-foreign minister, Perfecto Yasay, said he and Asean counterparts had noticed “very unsettlingly” that weapons systems had been installed, and considered that “a militarisation of the region”.
The foreign minister of the former administration, Alberto del Rosario, on Tuesday said the Philippines’ hosting of Asean summit was an opportunity for Mr Duterte to raise China’s militarisation.
“We should utilise our leadership to be able to uphold the rule of law,” he said. “The leadership of the Philippines will lose a lot of influence if we pass up that opportunity.”
A former government official involved in foreign policy likened the Philippines to Cambodia, which has been accused of taking China’s side and serving as a de facto veto against consensus Asean decisions that would otherwise be unfavourable to Beijing.
“Everyone is now watching the Philippines, we expect China to send its message to Southeast Asian countries through Duterte,” the official said, requesting anonymity.
“We are now acting like China’s lackey.”