PHL's ‘triple-action plan’ to address, not aggravate South China Sea tension – DFA

Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said Friday that the Philippines is trying to address the escalating tension in the West Philippine Sea with its Triple Action Plan (TAP) contrary to the claim of China that it will complicate and aggravate the situation.

In an interview with reporters, Del Rosario said the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have declared that they need to do something about the escalating tension in the South China Sea.

“The TAP is precisely crafted to see if the tension can be addressed. As you know, the first item on that TAP is the cessation of actions that escalate tension and secondly we want to push for the effective implementation of the DOC (Declaration on the Conduct of Parties),” he said after the Senate hearing on DFA’s P12.8-billion proposed budget for 2015.

“We are saying that the final objective of course, our goal line will be the arbitration. We didn’t say that it will be done in steps because we are already there and what we are trying to do is we are trying to address the escalating tension,” Del Rosario added.

He said one of the steps taken to de-escalate the tension is to stop construction on Pag-asa island, one of the contested islands which is occupied by the Philippines.

“We try to assume the moral high ground, we are saying that OK until such time that the arbitration award comes down, then maybe we should not pursue this (improvement, maintenance and upgrading of facilities there) even if it is allowed, under the exercise of self-restraint,” he said.

The West Philippine Sea, which is part of the South China Sea, is home to a cluster of islands, shoals, reefs and cays and is being claimed in part or in whole by China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

In an Oct. 7 letter to the UN addressed to Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, Liu Jieyi, China’s Permanent Ambassador to the UN, said the Philippines’ TAP “will only further complicate and aggravate the situation” in the area.

“The Philippine plan, if put into practice, will undermine the sanctity and efficacy of the Charter of the United Nations and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea,” said Liu.

The Philippines earlier sought international arbitration before a Netherlands-based tribunal to try to declare as illegal Beijing’s massive claim over the waters that extends up to Philippine territorial boundaries.

Del Rosario expects the tribunal to hand down its decision in early 2016.

He said China has been given until Dec. 15 to submit a response to the Philippines’s submission.

“If they do not respond, there will be questions that will be asked by the tribunal. These will be answered by March and there will be an open hearing. By July (2015), this will conclude,” he said.  — JDS, GMA News