DFA urged to initiate diplomatic initiatives with ASEAN over China’s incursions in WPS

Senator Risa Hontiveros on Tuesday called on the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to initiate diplomatic initiatives with ASEAN member-states amid China's continuous incursions in the West Philippine Sea.

In a statement, Hontiveros stressed the need for ASEAN member-states to stand together against China's "bullying."

"We should put our differences aside and work towards the common goal of opposing unfounded and over-ambitious Chinese territorial claims in the region," she said.

"The ASEAN should be able to compel China to reach a consensus on the Code of Conduct for the South China Sea,” she added.

The senator pointed out that unless ASEAN will not adopt a common stand on the issue, it will not be able to safeguard its interests.

"Southeast Asia on its own should also still take a common stand through a dialogue within the member states for the first round of talks. Then engage China in the framework of and towards an ASEAN-China Code of Conduct," she said.

"We have repeatedly called on China to respect our seas, our sovereignty, and our people, but these have fallen on deaf ears," she added.

Hontiveros noted the statement of current ASEAN chair and Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc during the 37th ASEAN Summit that Southeast Asia would be able to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea through respect and observance of international law, and by settling disputes through peaceful means.

“Disputes should be resolved through dialogue within the framework of the existing international rules-based order. Within ASEAN, it is clear that the United Nations Convention for the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) should govern the conduct of competing claimants in the South China Sea. A commitment to multilateralism and a respect for international law has always avowedly been the ASEAN way," she said.

"In contrast, the current strategy being pursued by the Chinese government is to use its economic and military dominance to impose its will upon the region and make its outrageous and excessive territorial claims a fait accompli,” she added.

Hontiveros is among the Philippine government officials who are vocal against China's aggressions in the West Philippine Sea.

Recently, around 220 Chinese fishing vessels, believed to be manned by Chinese maritime militia personnel, were sighted moored in line formation at the Julian Felipe Reef on March 7.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said on Saturday that at least 44 Chinese vessels are still at Julian Felipe Reef, and called on these remaining vessels to leave the area.

The Philippines has already filed a diplomatic protest against China over the matter.

Senator Panfilo Lacson, however, said that diplomatic protests may not be helpful anymore as China simply ignores them. He added that China's attitude to taking such actions for granted only "reduces it to a mere point of information."

"That said, perhaps China would not be so dismissive if we and our allies, both in the Asia-Pacific and the west, show we can band together to maintain a balance of power in the region, including the West Philippine Sea," he said.

Apart from the filing of the diplomatic action, the Department of Foreign Affairs has also demanded the withdrawal of Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea, saying their presence was a blatant infringement of the Philippines' sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction. — BM, GMA News